ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Kansas transgender people find Democratic allies in court bid to restore their right to alter IDs

Share
TOPEKA, Kan. -

Officials who work for the Democratic governor in Kansas are challenging a court ruling that has temporarily halted the state from allowing transgender people to change the gender on their driver's licenses.

The state Department of Revenue says Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, didn't have legal authority to file a lawsuit that led to a district judge temporarily stopping transgender people from changing their licenses, at least until Nov. 1. The latest court response by Democrats was dated Friday.

Kobach argues that allowing people to change their gender identity on state IDs -- which the state labels as their "sex" -- violates a Kansas law that took effect July 1 and rolled back transgender rights. He sued after Gov. Laura Kelly said the changes would continue despite that new law. Kansas for now is among only a few states that don't allow any such changes, along with Montana, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The state Department of Revenue oversees driver's license issues in Kansas through its Division of Vehicles. The department argued in court papers filed Friday that the attorney general needed authorization from the governor, the Legislature or the local district attorney to file a case in state district court. Kobach contends that past court precedents and legal traditions allowed him to sue.

The case is being argued in Shawnee County, home to the state capital of Topeka.

"This is a most serious misrepresentation and without more, requires the immediate dismissal of this case," attorneys for the Revenue Department argued in their most recent filing.

The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to text and email requests Sunday seeking a response.

District Judge Teresa Watson initially sided with Kobach when she scheduled a Nov. 1 hearing on whether to block changes in driver's licenses past that date. She also has an Aug. 16 hearing on a request from five transgender Kansas residents to intervene in the case, something Kobach opposes.

The new law rolling back transgender rights defines male and female based on a person's "reproductive system" at birth, preventing legal recognition of a change in gender identity, and applying the rule in "any" other law or regulation. The Republican-controlled Legislature overrode Kelly's veto of the measure.

The Department of Revenue initially argued unsuccessfully that it still must follow older and more specific laws regarding driver's licenses that conflict with the new law.

It's new arguments also are technical. They rely on a strict reading of the law setting out the attorney general's power and other laws detailing when agency actions can be reviewed by district courts.

The transgender people seeking to intervene in the lawsuit argue that the anti-trans rights law violates civil liberties protected by the Kansas Constitution, including a right to bodily autonomy.

Kobach also is trying to stop the state from changing transgender people's Kansas birth certificates in a separate federal court case.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.