Cruelty is the point
Kansas Republicans recently overruled the Democrat Governor’s veto and passed SB 244. Yes, cruelty is the point. It is not about safety or protecting others, it is about inflicting hatred and violating human rights.
SB 244 is an anti-transgender measure that revokes previously granted gender markers on birth certificates and driver’s licenses. It also restricts bathroom access based on birth sex, and grants people the right to sue if they shared the bathroom with a transgender person. Cruelty is the point.
Yes, the Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Vehicles sent over one thousand letters to residents whom previously had been invited to identify themselves as transgender. Their driver’s licenses were invalidated immediately. No consideration for the fact that the department issues the licenses, no consideration for the effort it took the residents to obtain a driver’s license, no time frame or grace period. Their licenses voided with immediacy. No consideration for how a resident would visit the department to pay funds to revert their license to an arbitrarily birth sex that misidentifies what they look like, who they are. Cruelty is the point.
It also defeats the whole point of a state ID: to help identify people. If my identification marks me as a female but others only ever see me as a male, how will law enforcement agents pick me out of a crowd, or a lineup? It does make sure of one thing: more chances for discrimination, more opportunities for harassment, and more people at risk of violence. Again, cruelty is the point.
ACLU has filed a lawsuit against Kansas. “SB 244 is a cruel and craven threat to public safety all in the name of fostering fear, division, and paranoia,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project.
The new law also allows bounty-style lawsuits if anyone decides you’re in the ‘wrong’ bathroom. Most people just want to utilize the bathroom and quickly leave. I have not seen reported sexual violence due to transgender people utilizing a bathroom that matches their appearance. Bigots, on the other hand, take the time to scrutinize, stare, and interrogate in bathroom stalls. Trans people want to avoid a scene by avoiding the bathroom they don’t belong in. Cruelty against transgender people is the point. As for sexual violence, the overwhelming majority of perpetrators are cisgender heterosexuals who act in private spaces, not public restrooms. Transgender people are more often the victims of sexual violence than the predators they are accused of being. Kansas is focusing her efforts dishonestly because cruelty, hatred, and misinformation is the point.
Human Rights Campaign issued this statement, “Instead of meeting the needs of their constituents, Kansas lawmakers have prioritized cruelty. As one of their first acts, they forced through this “bathroom bounty” bill under the cover of night and then overrode the governor just days later, denying LGBTQ+ Kansans and their allies an opportunity to even speak in defense of their dignity. Forcing people into the wrong bathrooms, stripping them of accurate IDs, and allowing government-sanctioned harassment doesn’t make anyone safer — it targets transgender Kansans for no reason and will undoubtedly impact many others who are targeted with animus whether or not they are transgender. Meanwhile leaders ignore real challenges facing families. This was sadly politics over people, but we will keep fighting for dignity and freedom for all LGBTQ+ people.”