If there’s one group of people that the far right hates more than undocumented immigrants or Democrats, it’s transgender people. While posing zero threat to the world, trans people have suffered a non-stop attack from Trump and his supporters, the latest being a threatening ban on transgender drivers in Kansas. Thanks to info gathered by Erin In The Morning, the Kansas Division of Vehicles has sent out letters to trans folks across the state, demanding they surrender their driver’s licenses. The reason is that the government claims their current credentials are invalid and must reflect the sex they were assigned at birth.
Not only is this a huge violation of trans rights, but no grace period was even provided to them concerning this sudden demand. If anyone refuses to comply with this outrageous legislation and still drives, they’ll be treated as though they didn’t have a valid license, resulting in punishment that could send them to jail and a $1K fine. Kansas was already a bad-enough state for trans people with its “bathroom bounty” bill, but this letter makes living there an absolute nightmare for anyone who’s changed their legal sex.
“Focusing on the important issues, aren’t you, Kansas?” sarcastically remarks a Redditor, who pointed out how this legislation had been vetoed by the Democrat Governor of Kansas, but a Republican supermajority overruled it. “The thing is this will be used for discrimination,” adds another person. “Republican lawmakers: How to immediately create a new undocumented population of ‘illegals.’ This is so unconstitutional it’s sick,” says a third.
Besides driving, not having a valid ID in the state you’re living in will make doing anything that involves legal matters impossible. With ICE on the loose, terrorizing even people with valid IDs, simply existing in Kansas is dangerous for trans people. Those who went through changes with their assigned sex at birth will know that it can take months, so the Kansas government put out this legislation, clearly knowing it would ruin lives. As Erin In The Morning recommends, any trans folks living in Kansas should probably consider calling a different state home. It’s not safe.
