Transgender Kansans, blindsided by invalidated IDs, fear wide-ranging legal restrictions will isolate them publicly

(CNN) — As Siobhan Kirchstein stepped up to the counter of the Kansas Division of Vehicles last Thursday, she was struck by how banal the moment felt, even though the circumstances that brought her there felt far from ordinary.

“Why is everyone acting like this is a completely normal day?” Kirchstein recalls thinking.

Kirchstein, who is transgender, passed the clerk a letter that had landed in her mailbox the night before. It informed her – effective Thursday morning – her driver’s license would be invalidated and she would be required to surrender it to the state.

Looking behind her, she realized several others in the room were clutching the same letter.

Hundreds of transgender and nonbinary people across Kansas received notices last week they would be required to get reissued IDs that reflect their sex assigned at birth – part of a wide-ranging new law advocates say is one of the most restrictive of its kind in the US.

The law, SB 244, was passed February 18 after the state legislature’s GOP supermajority overrode a veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The bill was rushed through the legislature using an expedited process known as “gut and go,” which allows state lawmakers to slash a bill’s contents and insert large chunks of a different bill’s text.

The two-part bill defines the term “gender” as a person’s “biological sex at birth” and requires this be reflected on state IDs and birth certificates. Approximately 1,700 driver’s licenses and an unspecified number of birth certificates are estimated to be invalidated by the law, which went into effect February 26.

Nicknamed the “bathroom bounty” bill by some advocacy groups, a second provision requires trans people to use restrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth in government buildings such as libraries, courthouses and schools. Repeat violations can result in fines or misdemeanor charges. It also allows anyone in the state to sue people they believe have violated the law for up to $1,000.

The law has been championed by state conservative lawmakers, including Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, who said last month, “common sense has prevailed.”

Rep. Bob Lewis, a Republican, said during a House session last month he believes the law “codifies societal norms” and ensures “public spaces used for private purposes will be single-sex and that a person’s identification documents will accurately reflect their biological sex.”

But transgender Kansans said they felt blindsided by the law’s swift enforcement and sweeping provisions, which some fear will make it increasingly difficult to perform essential tasks within the state such as applying for jobs, voting and using a public restroom.

While other states prohibit trans people from reflecting their gender identities on licenses or changing their birth certificates, Kansas’ law is the first to require trans people to reverse this change on existing documents, The Associated Press reported.

In a lawsuit filed Friday challenging the law, the ACLU said SB 244 was “meant to discriminate against and dehumanize transgender people.” The suit asks the court to temporarily block enforcement of the law while the case plays out.

“The intended effect was to unequivocally let the trans community know that they are not safe or welcome in Kansas,” said Rep. Abi Boatman, the state’s only transgender lawmaker. “It is a literal one-stop-shop bill of hate.”

‘You didn’t even give me a chance to comply’

Though transgender Kansans had heard of SB 244’s passage, some say they were caught by surprise by how quickly the ID requirements of the law were enforced. Others say they are still waiting for a notification their state IDs are invalid.

As of February 26, the Department of Revenue said it had issued only 300 license invalidation notices so far, though the agency has estimated about 1,700 people will be affected. Those who received their letters late Wednesday or Thursday could not legally drive to the department office to change their license.

“I had to have a friend drive me because it warned us of penalties,” Kirchstein said.

Typically, new laws in Kansas go into effect on July 1, when the annual statute book is published. But SB 244 was written so it would take effect as soon as it was published in the Kansas Register, which updates every Thursday.

Isaac Johnson, a trans activist with the local Trans Lawrence Coalition, said members of the advocacy group have said they were unable to legally drive to work once the law suddenly went into effect.

“You didn’t even give me a chance to comply with your law to begin with, and now you’re threatening me with legal action if you catch me driving to the DMV to update my driver’s license?” Johnson said in frustration. “That’s what’s been really shocking.”

Bracing for confusion

Conservative Kansas lawmakers praised the law as a common sense measure, celebrating the bathroom provision in particular as a way to “protect women and girls” from sharing restrooms, changing rooms and other facilities with transgender women.

“SB 244 restores sanity in Kansas,” Masterson, the Senate president, said in a statement. “We swiftly overrode Laura Kelly’s radical veto that would have forced our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters to share their bathrooms with biological men in government buildings,” he said, referring to transgender women.

For trans Kansans, both the bathroom and ID restrictions have fueled concerns they may be harassed or retaliated against because of their identity – even if they do follow the law.

Using multiple-occupancy restrooms that align with their identity is now illegal for trans people. For those who have physically transitioned – and whose appearance now aligns with their gender identity – using public restrooms may cause even more discomfort and confusion.

“People will also still think you’re using the wrong restroom, right? Because for many (transgender) folks, we don’t look like our sex assigned at birth,” said Harper Seldin, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Rights Project.

The so-called “bounty” provision of the law, which allows people to sue if they feel “aggrieved” by a trans person’s presence in restrooms or other sex-segregated spaces, has also fed anxieties of those who fear they will be targeted for their appearance.

“It creates this incentive for Kansans to police their neighbors,” said Seldin.

Boatman believes the situation could lead to harassment of people who comply with the law, including cisgender women who may be questioned due to their appearance.

“I think we’re gonna really run into some unintended consequences where people are harassing and accosting folks in the bathroom for actually following the law,” Boatman said.

The legislation restricts any “multiple-occupancy private space,” which could be interpreted to include nursing homes, dormitories and locker rooms, Boatman said.

Some transgender people in the state will experience a similar incongruence between their physical appearance and the gender marker on their state ID. Several people who spoke to CNN expressed concern they may be forced to disclose their identity when performing essential tasks, like going through airport security or applying for jobs, apartments or bank loans.

After Johnson transitioned, he said he had no desire to change the gender marker on his documents. But he soon found himself in uncomfortable situations where people didn’t understand why his appearance did not align with his ID. On one occasion, he said, he was accused of identity fraud.

“The reason why I changed my gender marker was because (cisgender) people are already weird when your marker doesn’t match the way they understand you,” he said. “I’m understood as a male. So that’s why I changed it to male, so it wouldn’t be confusing for people.”

Considering fleeing the Sunflower State

The mounting number of restrictions placed on transgender people in Kansas has caused some people to question whether they should remain in the state at all.

Ruby Mae Johnson, who has lived in Kansas for most of her life, has begun planning a move to the Netherlands because she no longer feels safe in the country.

It’s an ongoing process of mourning,” she said. “There are places in the United States that are extraordinarily dear to me that I have to reckon with the idea that I may never see them again. I have a child buried in the United States. I have three living children and three grandchildren.”

Even as Johnson and her partner plan their move, she said she worried for the people they will leave behind.

Kirchstein said she has often discussed moving with her friends. She has Canadian ancestors and is working to apply for a Canadian passport.

“Despite the fact that we love this place, we do not feel safe in Kansas anymore,” she said. “As a matter of fact, I have friends who have left the country altogether.”

Even if Kirchstein did leave, she hasn’t decided how far she would be willing to go from home.

“I would not want to leave the United States, but if, I mean, today was a terrifying example of what is in store in this country,” she said.

Others, like Gabriel Padilla, would rather stay and challenge the restrictions rather than leave their lifelong home.

“I’m one of those people that would rather fight it and figure out what I can do,” Padilla said. He added, “I know that I’ve lived here all my life for a reason. I’ve never wanted to leave Kansas.”

A battle destined for the courts

In recent years, hundreds of laws across the US have restricted how transgender people receive health care and show up on playing fields and in the classroom. Fierce battles over the constitutionality of these laws have played out in America’s courtrooms, with some – such as sports participation bans and youth health care regulations – have made it all the way to the Supreme Court.

SB 244 will undoubtedly get its own day in court.

The lawsuit filed by the ACLU and law firm Ballard Spahr last Friday was brought on behalf of two transgender men. It argues the law violates Kansas’s constitutional protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process and freedom of speech.

Heather St. Clair, a Ballard Spahr attorney, slammed the law as a “state-sanctioned attack on transgender people aimed at silencing, dehumanizing, and alienating Kansans whose gender identity does not conform to the state legislature’s preferences.”

The attorneys have requested a temporary restraining order from the court, which would halt the law’s enforcement while the legal challenge plays out.

Harper, the ACLU attorney, said the legal team has asked for the issue to be heard by the court as soon as possible.

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CNN’s Lauren Mascarenas contributed to this report.