Kansas threatens to jail trans people who don't surrender ID cards

"The Kansas Department of Revenue then submitted letters to relevant individuals instructing them to surrender any ID cards that did not 'match your sex assigned at birth'. Those who surrendered their identification cards will then receive replacements that, the Department writes, will meet the 'statutory requirements' of SB244. Residents who do not comply could face a class B misdemeanour, which carries a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail."

"The sweeping anti-trans bill, SB244, bans trans and non-binary Kansans from using public toilets and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. It also allows citizens to submit bounty-style lawsuits against anyone they spot in facilities which they believe are transgender. Republican lawmakers forcefully passed the legislation despite the state's governor, Laura Kelly, vetoing it earlier this month after describing it as 'poorly drafted'."

"Governor Kelly argued in her veto announcement that the legislation went 'far beyond the intent to limit the right for trans people to use the appropriate bathroom.' She said the law would have dire consequences for all Kansans and would prevent husbands from seeing their wives in shared hospital rooms or granddaughters from seeing their grandfather in shared nursing homes."

Kansas has implemented SB244, sweeping anti-trans legislation that bans transgender and non-binary individuals from using public facilities consistent with their gender identity and permits citizen lawsuits against suspected transgender people in these spaces. The Kansas Department of Revenue issued letters demanding residents surrender government-issued IDs that don't match their sex assigned at birth, with non-compliance resulting in class B misdemeanor charges carrying $1,000 fines and up to six months imprisonment. Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the legislation, citing poor drafting and warning of broader consequences affecting all Kansans, including restrictions on hospital and nursing home visitation rights. Republican lawmakers overrode her veto to pass the bill.

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