In a significant shift, the state of Kansas has declared that it will no longer modify transgender individuals’ birth certificates to reflect their gender identities. This decision, announced by the state Department of Health and Environment, stems from a recently enacted law that prohibits the state from legally recognizing gender identities. Kansas now joins the ranks of a few states that do not amend transgender individuals’ birth certificates, and it was already among the states that do not alter the gender marker on transgender people’s driver’s licenses.
This policy reversal marks a departure from the approach set by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s administration when she assumed office in 2019. These changes were prompted by legal actions initiated by conservative Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach to enforce the new state law. Enacted by the GOP-controlled Legislature, the law came into effect on July 1 and defines an individual’s gender solely based on the sex assigned at birth.
Governor Kelly, while expressing her stance against discrimination and interference in Kansans’ personal lives, acknowledged her commitment to upholding the law. She stated, “As I’ve said before, the state should not discriminate or encroach into Kansans’ personal lives – it’s wrong, it’s bad for business.”
The new law in Kansas was formulated based on proposals from various national anti-transgender groups and is part of a broader trend of measures rolling back transgender rights in Republican-controlled state legislatures across the United States. Alongside Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee also restrict transgender residents from altering their birth certificates, with Montana and Tennessee additionally preventing changes to driver’s licenses.
Between 2019 and June 2023, over 900 Kansas residents modified the gender markers on their birth certificates, while nearly 400 updated their driver’s licenses. Both documents previously listed a person’s “sex.” Attorney General Kris Kobach issued a legal opinion in late June, affirming that the new law not only bars such changes but also mandates the state to reverse previous alterations to its records. The Department of Health and Environment clarified that transgender individuals who have already changed their birth certificates can retain those documents, but new copies will revert to listing the sex assigned at birth.
Kobach expressed satisfaction with the Kelly administration’s compliance with the new law, emphasizing that the intentions of Kansas legislators were evident. While supporters of the bill initially framed it as a measure to regulate restroom use by transgender individuals, the law lacks specific enforcement mechanisms in this regard. LGBTQ-rights advocates perceived the law as an attempt to legally erase transgender identities and urged individuals to update their driver’s licenses and birth certificates before its implementation.