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3w ago

ACLU Sues Kansas After State Invalidates Transgender Residents’ IDs Under New Law

ACLU lawyers argue SB 244’s retroactive ID rules violate Kansas constitutional protections.

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Small transgender and LGBTQ rights flags sit on the desks of Kansas state Reps. Tobias Schlingensiepen, right, D-Topeka, and Kirk Haskins, left, also D-Topeka, in the Kansas House chamber, protesting a new law that will prevent transgender people from changing their driver's licenses and birth certificates to reflect their gender identities and nullify past changes, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kansas. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that includes an anti-transgender bathroom bill and prohibits gender marker changes on driver's licenses.
Transgender rights activists gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Overview

  • The lawsuit, filed Feb. 27 in Douglas County District Court on behalf of two transgender residents using pseudonyms, seeks an injunction and a ruling striking down SB 244.
  • Kansas began enforcing the law Feb. 26, sending letters that immediately voided licenses with gender markers not matching sex assigned at birth and directing holders to surrender them.
  • State officials say more than 1,000 driver’s licenses were invalidated and estimate up to about 1,800 birth certificates will be reissued to reflect sex at birth.
  • SB 244 also restricts use of multi-occupancy restrooms and locker rooms in government buildings by sex assigned at birth and creates a private right of action with $1,000 in damages.
  • Affected residents must pay to obtain replacement credentials and face potential penalties if found driving with now-invalid licenses after lawmakers overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto.