Kansas Revokes Licenses From Trans Drivers
Back when Florida banned driving while trans two years ago, it was already apparent as a major step in a conservative project to erase queer (and more specifically trans) people from public life. At the time, I figured Texas would be the next state to enact such bold legislation. This week, though, I've been proven wrong: Kansas made all drivers' licenses with corrected gender markers invalid as of today, forcing trans Kansans to swap their IDs out.
The Kansas City Star reported the news this morning, citing both state law and letters sent to Kansas residents who'd had the information on their IDs updated. As of today, February 26th, those updated IDs have been officially invalidated by the state — Kansans will have to travel to the state's Department of Revenue to swap out their licenses for new cards with the prior, incorrect gender markers on them. In letters sent to trans Kansans, the Department of Revenue said, "Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials. That means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credentials will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential." No word on how the state expects people with suddenly-invalid licenses to actually travel anywhere.
I had actually been thinking about making a trip out to Kansas myself — I have family in the state I haven't seen in a while, and my aunt out there invited me backpacking recently. Now, given the state's stance towards my life, it looks like it's on the transphobic travel blacklist. Rather than visiting the state, I now worry about the family I have stuck within its borders. It's the same reason I wasn't able to visit my parents for the holidays last year, since they live in Florida. That state still hasn't clarified its stance on considering updated IDs to be fraud, and I don't want to be the test case.
Bit by bit, trans people are losing access to the country we live in. State by state, municipality by municipality, bathroom bans and ID laws are forcing us out — not to mention the effects those ID laws will have on constituents in a nation increasingly dead set on implementing voter ID. But, hey, at least we're not competing in sports, huh?
