According to a law that came into effect on Thursday, February 26th, the government of Kansas, USA, announced that transgender residents who had previously changed their gender on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates will now be invalidated.
The law requires residents of the state to change the gender marker back to the one assigned at birth, and also prohibits residents from changing the gender on these documents in the future.
Over 1000 Kansas residents are affected by this law. They must reapply for their driver’s licenses and birth certificates, and bear the related costs themselves.
Furthermore, the law also mandates that transgender individuals must use bathrooms and changing rooms in government-owned or leased buildings based on the gender assigned to them at birth.
Harper Seldin, a senior lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, argued that the new law in Kansas “puts transgender individuals at risk when interacting with law enforcement, or when applying for jobs, housing, or public benefits.”
He explained, “The mismatch between the gender they present to the world and the gender on their driver’s license exposes them to discrimination or violence, so many transgender individuals choose to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses to be able to live authentically in society and protect their own safety.”
Kansas residents were previously able to change the gender information on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates. In 2023, Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit to suspend gender changes. In 2025, the court allowed transgender residents to once again change their gender. Subsequently, lawmakers in the state introduced a bill and overturned Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of the bill in the Kansas State Legislature, making it law.
Seldin stated that the American Civil Liberties Union plans to file a lawsuit challenging the law on Friday.
Efforts to expand the impact of transgender individuals are facing increasing resistance at the state and federal levels in the United States. Since President Trump returned to the White House last year, his administration has taken a particularly tough stance, issuing multiple executive orders to restrict transgender individuals and restore social order.
President Trump firmly stated in an executive order that the US government only recognizes two genders: male and female. Another executive order is working to exclude transgender (physiological male) athletes from women’s sports.
(Reference to Reuters)