A Kansas judge on Wednesday said so many transgender people rushed to change their gender on their driver’s licenses that it created a “public safety concern.”
Shawnee County District Court Judge Teresa Watson issued a temporary restraining order Monday on a policy from Democratic state Gov. Laura Kelly that allowed transgender people in the state to change their gender on their licenses. Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach challenged the governor’s policy, arguing it violates key sections of Senate Bill (S.B.) 180, which went into effect July 1.
S.B. 180, also known as the Women’s Bill of Rights, defines an individual’s sex as “an individual’s sex at birth, either male or female.” (RELATED: Subpoena of Transgender Health Group’s Documents Postponed Until 2024 Amid Stonewalling Transparency Efforts)
Kansas has so far failed to prove to Judge Watson that she made a mistake in her Monday ruling, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The ban is slated to expire July 24, although the judge has indicated she may hold a hearing to extend it. Watson said the fact that 172 licenses were changed in one month — reportedly equal to a third of all license changes that happened in the last four years — played a key role in her defense of the ruling.
A state-court judge said the nearly 200 transgender people who rushed in recent weeks to change the sex listing on their driver’s licenses created an immediate “public safety” concern as she kept a ban on those changes in place. #ksleg https://t.co/7upKgrttU0
— John Hanna (@APjdhanna) July 12, 2023
“Licenses are used by law enforcement to identify criminal suspects, crime victims, wanted persons, missing persons and others,” Watson wrote in an opinion, according to AP. “Compliance with legal requirements for identifying license holders is a public safety concern.”
Transgender Kansans have argued they are subject to increased scrutiny if they have licenses that do not match their “gender identity.”
“The officer examined my license for a prolonged period and seemed suspicious of my identity,” University of Kansas student Adam Kellogg said, AP reported. “I would not have chosen to disclose my transgender status during that traffic stop. That experience made me uncomfortable and anxious about further interactions with state officials, including police officers.”