Jasper Bateman
DEI Chair
Graphic by CONNIE KLINGER|Special to The Leader
On Thursday, Feb. 26, thousands of transgender folks received a letter in the mail from the Kansas State Department of Revenue invalidating their license because it does not match their assigned gender at birth.
This is discrimination at face value, and many of the recipients of these letters are suing the state of Kansas with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.
As a trans guy, this infuriates me and makes me genuinely scared of what states can do regarding basic human rights, simply for the act of discrimination in attempts to erase trans identities.
Being trans does not affect your driving ability, and taking away someone’s driver’s license does not simply erase their identity.
Other states should read the room and try not to follow Kansas regarding these outrageous laws.
I believe that many legislative decisions such as this have no purpose but to make trans lives harder.
What if someone who falls under the trans umbrella and received the letter had a very important appointment to go to the next day, and they were charged a cancellation fee or missed a procedure because they couldn’t drive themselves?
What if they or someone they knew was having a life-threatening medical emergency and had to be taken to the hospital?
What if their dog was dying and they needed to rush them to an emergency vet?
These are real-life scenarios that many do not think about until it happens to them, and not being able to drive is a dangerous inconvenience.
So many people rely on their cars as their main form of transportation to get to and from places in their daily lives.
In Kansas, driving with an invalid driver’s license can result in fines up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail.
That is money a number of people, not only trans folks, do not have laying around.
It can be very hard to set aside even $100 for a ticket, as many people are living paycheck to paycheck, especially if they are a college student or have low income.
Jail time is just straight up ridiculous in this circumstance because they were not given a grace period to fix their license and avoid complications.
Not to mention, how do they expect those affected to get to the Department of Motor Vehicles to change their gender marker on their license?
They can’t drive due to the consequences.
I have no doubt that this situation caused those affected to feel upset, unheard and invalid.
Another point to mention is that a driver’s license is a common form of government issued ID that is used in daily life.
Not having a valid driver’s license can mean that you cannot purchase certain items requiring an age verification, get loans, cross the border, board a plane, verify your identity at banks, doctors’ offices, the emergency room and so much more.
Really, though, why do so many people care what trans folks do with their lives, and how does being trans affect your driving?
More people need to see that trans folks are actual people who have jobs, hobbies and dreams.
They are still the same person they have always been, just in a way that they feel most comfortable.
Being trans is a constant stress of acceptance between yourself and the people around you.
Adding more stress through the legality of one’s identity really should not be as much of a problem as it is.
If you know someone who is openly trans, be kind to them.
Good luck with midterms!