Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has recently filed a request with a federal judge to allow state officials to prevent individuals from modifying their birth certificates.
This action is in line with a new anti-transgender law set to take effect in Kansas. The court filing seeks to terminate a federal consent decree that previously mandated the state to permit changes to birth certificates, including gender markers.
If approved, the request would prohibit individuals in Kansas from making any changes to their birth certificates. During a news conference, Kobach stated that the state’s official records, such as birth certificates and driver’s licenses, would reflect the gender assigned at birth, regardless of any previous changes made to the birth certificate.
The filing occurs shortly before the implementation of a far-reaching law on July 1 that restricts transgender rights, including barring them from using restrooms, locker rooms, domestic violence shelters, and rape crisis centers that align with their gender identities.
Kansas enacted a law in April, known as SB 180, that sets it apart from similar legislation in other states by legally defining male and female based on reproductive anatomy at birth. The law emphasizes the “distinction between the sexes” for the purpose of protecting public health, safety, and privacy. It mandates state agencies to identify individuals as male or female “at birth” to ensure accurate data collection.
However, both supporters and opponents of the law have noted that it lacks a clear enforcement mechanism. The law does not modify criminal statutes, impose penalties or fines, or provide the ability to file lawsuits for alleged violations. Critics argue that this ambiguity primarily affects how transgender individuals’ identification documents are maintained.
The law’s passage involved Republican legislators overriding a veto from Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. It has faced significant backlash from LGBTQ advocates and civil rights groups, who argue that it infringes upon constitutional protections and unfairly targets transgender individuals.
Critics of the law anticipate that its primary impact will be on the maintenance of identification documents for transgender individuals in Kansas. LGBTQ advocates and civil rights groups strongly criticized the move, asserting that it disregards the constitutional protections guaranteed to LGBTQ+ individuals.
Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, expressed dismay at Attorney General Kobach and the state legislature’s attempt to undermine transgender Kansans’ rights. Kubic emphasized that no matter their efforts, fundamental constitutional protections cannot be erased.
The recent filing is related to a consent decree from four years ago, which mandated Kansas to allow individuals with state-issued birth certificates to make changes to those documents. The consent decree resulted from a 2018 lawsuit filed by a group of transgender individuals who argued that the existing policies preventing them from altering their birth certificates were unconstitutional.
In 2020, federal courts struck down similar rules in Idaho and Ohio that prohibited changes to birth certificates. However, earlier this year, a federal judge in Oklahoma dismissed a challenge to a similar law.
After Governor Laura Kelly assumed office in 2019, instead of pursuing litigation, the state entered into a consent decree overseen by the federal government. Under the decree, Kansas was obligated to provide transgender individuals with certified birth certificates that accurately reflect their gender identity without disclosing their transgender status.
Attorney General Kobach argued in his filing that the state needed to prevent changes to birth certificates to ensure compliance with the new law. According to Kobach, it is impossible to reconcile the requirements of SB 180 and the consent decree simultaneously.
