“That is one of the reasons I am proceeding under a pseudonym in this case,” Daniel said. “I do not want to publicly reveal that I am transgender. I want to protect my privacy, and to protect myself from harassment, violence, and discrimination, as well as retaliation for trying to protect my rights. I am also worried about backlash against my fiance, family, and employer if people learn I am transgender.”
Two transgender Kansas men have filed a lawsuit challenging a recently-approved rule that invalidates driver’s licenses and restricts restroom use on the basis of biological sex.
According to The Kansas Reflector, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the two plaintiffs by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Philadelphia-based Ballard Spahr law firm. Lodged in a Douglas County court, the lawsuit seeks a ruling to prevent the law from being enforced while the case continues to be litigated.
“By invalidating Plaintiffs’ licenses and barring them from restrooms that align with their gender identity, SB 244 demeans their personhood, obstructs their ability to participate equally in public life, and exposes them to heightened risks of harassment and violence by forcibly outing them as transgender,” attorneys wrote in their request for a temporary injunction.
The plaintiffs also claim that the law, Senate Bill 244, conflicts with provisions of the Kansas Constitution that require statutes to have only one subject. The first part of SB 244 pertains to driver’s licenses, whereas the second relates to private spaces located within public buildings.
The Monitor notes that SB 244 was passed through a series of procedural moves that were intended to limit both public input and opposition. It was subject to immediate votes in both the House and Senate, then reaffirmed after being vetoed by the state’s governor.
“The Act targets transgender Kansans across multiple, unrelated domains of their lives,” the lawsuit alleges. “This sweeping law restricts transgender individuals from obtaining driver’s licenses reflecting their gender identity and bans transgender people from accessing restrooms or other single-sex spaces in a range of public places including libraries, courthouses, state parks, hospitals, and interstate rest stops.”
One of the plaintiffs, identified in court documents by the name Daniel, said that he was raised by an extremely religious family in southern California. However, he knew from a young age that was he transgender. Daniel moved to Kansas in 2014 to attend college, where he found his “true self” and began to transition. Nobody except his close friends and family, Daniel says, knows that he is transgender—but if Senate Bill 244 were to be enforced, he’d likely be outed every time he had to present an ID or use a restroom.
“That is one of the reasons I am proceeding under a pseudonym in this case,” Daniel said. “I do not want to publicly reveal that I am transgender. I want to protect my privacy, and to protect myself from harassment, violence, and discrimination, as well as retaliation for trying to protect my rights. I am also worried about backlash against my fiance, family, and employer if people learn I am transgender.”
Matthew, the other plaintiff in the case, said that he has lived openly as a man since 2019. He said that he has been harassed in bathrooms before, and that being outed as transgender could have a severe impact on his mental health and physical safety.
“I want to protect my privacy, and to protect myself from harassment, violence, and discrimination, as well as retaliation for trying to protect my rights,” Matthew said. “I am also worried about backlash against those close to me if people learn I am transgender.”
“Being transgender is not in and of itself a medical condition to be cured,” the lawsuit alleges. “But untreated gender dysphoria can result in significant lifelong distress, clinically significant anxiety and depression, self-harming behaviors, substance misuse, and suicidality.”
Sources
Trans men file lawsuit over Kansas law that restricts bathroom use and invalidates driver’s licenses
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