The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is intervening in a lawsuit between Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and the Kansas Department of Revenue, on behalf of five transgender Kansans over an effort to bar changes to gender markers on state issued driver’s licenses.
The announcement follows District Judge Teresa Watson’s temporary restraining order blocking Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration from allowing gender marking changes while the case moves forward. Since Jan. 1, more than 500 people have sought to change the gender marking on their licenses.
The ACLU contends that Kobach’s lawsuit is discriminatory and unconstitutional. Kobach’s lawsuit says the Kelly administration’s decision to allow those changes to continue after the Women’s Bill of Rights law took effect July 1, is in violation of the new law.
The ACLU noted Tuesday it also intended to file a motion to oppose the preliminary injunction requested by Kobach and support the Kansas Department of Revenue’s motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order.
Gov. Kelly is also pushing back on Monday’s court order. She tells KMAN that she and Kobach differ on their interpretations of the new Women’s Bill of Rights law enacted July 1.
The Kelly administration says Senate Bill 180, as written, isn’t tailored to specifics of Kansas law, including the processes surrounding birth certificates and driver’s licenses.
The governor also noted that companies looking to locate in Kansas are likely taking notice, citing North Carolina’s controversial 2016 so-called bathroom bill, which initially prevented trans people from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity.
The governor says Kansas is currently in the midst of an economic development boom that has included the commissioning of NBAF and investments from Scorpius and Michelin in Manhattan and Junction City as well as Panasonic in the Kansas City area.
Last month, Kansas received the third straight Gold Shovel Award from Area Development Magazine for three consecutive years of record private-sector investment.
