Southern Queer Newsroom
In some of the most troubling news this year, Kansas Republicans in the legislature overrode the governor's veto of a bill broadly attacking trans rights from bathroom access to updating birth certificates. The passage itself was contentious, as only four Democratic legislators were allowed to speak against the bill before Republicans closed debate. The bill also included provisions that meant the new law went into effect immediately, kept the entire law from being found unconstitutional at once (a more common sight in anti-trans legislation), and retroactively invalidated every driver's license with an updated gender marker. The changes went into effect last week.
This last section has seen the most news coverage, possibly in part because bathroom bans have become incredibly common in conservative states like Texas, but largely due to how immediately disruptive the driver's license revocations are. Overnight, over a thousand people had their license invalidated, meaning they both needed to renew them with old, incorrect gender markers, and had to drive to the DMV to do it, instantly putting them at risk of being arrested for driving without a license.
Many trans folks had letters issued by the state government sent to them that their licenses were now invalid and needed to be updated, but Assigned Media has found instances of licenses being revoked without a letter being sent and, in one case, without the person changing their gender marker, just changing their name. Because of how strict Kansas' voter ID laws are, this also revoked their right to vote. It is a startlingly quick destruction of many civil rights trans Kansans were used to, and should serve as a reminder to cis allies of just what trans people stand to lose without support.
Thankfully, there is support there. The Kansas City chapter of Democratic Socialists of America launched a mutual aid fund for trans Kansans that needed to get their licenses renewed, reimbursing DMV fees, birth certificate expenses, and Uber/Lyft/taxi rides. Another organization, the LGBTQ Foundation of Kansas, has a fundraiser ongoing. The ACLU of Kansas announced on February 27, the day after the law took effect, that they were suing the state on behalf of two trans residents.
Another section in SB 244 bans trans people from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity in all public buildings in the state, from the state capitol to public libraries. Much like Texas' SB 8, this section allows individuals to sue local and state government bodies for "damages" incurred by believing a trans person entered the "wrong" restroom. The penalties – $25,000 for the first day, $125,000 for each consecutive day – are pulled right out of the Texas law, which were increased to punish Democrats for resisting. It seems likely that the state of Kansas will follow Texas in its enforcement of the bathroom ban by using state troopers as potty police. The law also imposes criminal penalties for trans people using the restroom, a step beyond what Texas imposed through SB 8.
The further implementation of bounty hunter style enforcement like this is a worrying trend that builds off bounty hunter anti-abortion laws in majority-conservative states, including Texas, which passed such provisions in their 2021 abortion ban (also titled SB 8). That the government also sent notices to trans people who had merely changed their name and not their gender markers reveals that the state of Kansas has been tracking and flagging trans people going through legal procedures to pass as cis, which is both unsurprising and deeply concerning. Given that Kansas houses trans inmates based on their sex assigned at birth, it's no wonder anxiety is sky high there and around the country.
One trans woman affected by all of this is Abi Boatman, a trans woman elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in January 2026. This bill simultaneously revokes her ability to drive, right to vote, and ability to use the bathroom in the building where she works. It's difficult not to draw conclusions from that timing. In an opinion piece for MS NOW, Boatman wrote "We’ll either be accused of fraud or immediately outed, putting us at risk of harassment and violence. This doesn’t make lines move faster or our public spaces safer." However, Rep. Boatman also said this at the very end of her opinion.
Since my transition, many people have asked me why I don’t move to a state where I can continue public service and be treated with more dignity. For more than a decade, my answer has always been the same: The work is here. Kansas is a beautiful state. Kansas is my home, and we have a lot of good things going for us. So I’m staying here to defend the freedom of all Kansans, whether the majority party likes it or not.
Resilience continues to be a defining feature of trans people throughout years of persecution. Through survival work and the help of organizations like Kansas City DSA and others, trans Americans look likely to weather the storm as it gets nastier.