Kansas sends letters to trans drivers demanding the immediate surrender of their licenses over birthright law

Transgender people living in Kansas have been ordered to hand back their driver’s licenses if they do not reflect their assigned-sex-at-birth, under a new law.

Residents received letters informing them that the controversial House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 would take effect today.

The letter, seen by Erin In The Morning, a website dedicated to covering issues impacting transgender people, says that drivers will be issued a new license upon handing in their old one.

“Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials,” the letter reads. “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.”

The legislation was vetoed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, earlier this month, but was then overwritten by a Republican supermajority in the state legislature.

However, the rapid enactment of the new law has left transgender residents across the state scrambling to get the correct identification.

Iridescent Riffel, a transgender woman who commutes to work, says that she is now worried about getting into her car.

“I don’t want to get a misdemeanor just trying to go to work,” she told The Kansas City Star. “I’m salaried. I’m not working hourly, and not everyone has that same privilege as me.”

Riffel said that she has yet to receive a letter herself, despite changing her sex from “M” to “F” in 2023. Her boss has agreed to let her work remotely until she can legally drive again.

SB 244 also requires transgender Kansans to use bathrooms and multi-occupancy private spaces in accordance with their sex assigned at birth, while in government buildings.

The bill allows private citizens to take legal action against someone if they suspect them of not using the bathroom that is in accordance with their assigned sex at birth.

If successful, someone who files a complaint against a transgender person in a public bathroom could stand to gain $1,000.

Anyone found to have used a bathroom not in accordance with their assigned sex at birth will be given a written warning on their first offense. On their second offense, they will receive a $1,000 fine.

A third offense carries a $ 1,000 fine and a six-month prison sentence.

Another change enforced by the sweeping bill relates to the term “gender,” which has now been defined as a person’s “biological sex at birth.”

As the law continues to be rolled out today, Democratic Representative Abi Boatman has slammed the new legislation.

“The persecution is the point,” Boatman told The Kansas City Star.

Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, also accused Kansas’s lawmakers of choosing “politics over people.”

“Forcing people into the wrong bathrooms, stripping them of accurate IDs, and allowing government-sanctioned harassment doesn’t make anyone safer - it targets transgender Kansans for no reason and will undoubtedly impact many others who are targeted with animus whether or not they are transgender,” Robinson said in a press release.

Governor Kelly vetoed SB 244 earlier this month, describing it as “poorly drafted legislation.”

“Not only will this bill keep brothers from visiting sisters’ dorms and husbands from wives’ shared hospital rooms, it will cost Kansas taxpayers millions of dollars to comply with this very vague legislation,” she added.

The Independent has contacted Governor Kelly for comment.