A number of new laws will take effect in Kansas next month, including laws affecting transgender people. Guest Commentator David J. Brown, an attorney who often represents LBGTQ clients, says three of the laws taking effect in July are misguided and will likely face a court challenge.
(Transcript)
By: David J. Brown, Esq.
Despite promises of equality, America has a history of picking on minorities.
Historically, victims have included African Americans and Native Americans. But this country has also picked on ethnic groups, like the Irish, Italians, Chinese and Mexicans. And of course, religious groups, like Jews, Catholics and Muslims. Sadly, this list could go on and on.
This decade, the popular victims have been members of the LGBTQ+ community and most recently transgender folks.
In 2023, more than 525 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country, including the Kansas Legislature. Experts say nearly 100 of these bills already have - or will soon - become laws.
In Kansas, 14 separate anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced during this year's legislative session.
Three of the bills passed into law targeted transgender persons.
One requires the state to classify a person’s gender as the sex assigned at birth and requires transgender persons to use public facilities designated for the “sex assigned at birth;”
Another one bans transgender girls from participating on female team sports.
The third requires jails to house prisoners based on their sex assigned at birth.
Each of these bills , at best, harms transgender folks; and at worst, places them in real physical danger.
Recently, the Human Rights Campaign declared a State of Emergency for LGBTQ people in the United States.
As a lawyer who has worked with the LGBTQ+ community since 1992, I have never seen my clients so frightened.
I've had clients move from Kansas to more LGBTQ+ friendly states. One parent of a trans child has sold everything and is moving to Spain. Another woman - whose transgender status had been promoted by her employer - has now been told she can no longer use the women's bathroom at work. Meanwhile, children and adults are rushing to get name changes and gender marker changes before new laws take effect in Kansas.
There are an estimated 92,000 LGBTQ+ persons living in Kansas. I haven’t talked to them all. But stories in newspapers across the state, and reports in social media, are filled with stories of people who are in panic mode.
The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates that 0.6 percent of the U.S. population over age 13 is transgender. In Kansas, that would mean roughly 14,000 Kansans over age 13 are trans.
I've spoken with representatives of national groups that have traditionally gone to court to fight for LGBTQ+ rights. They are overwhelmed and perplexed about how to effectively fight back.
In Kansas, as in other red states, the general plan is to wait before filing lawsuits. I'm told Kansas statutes are hard to fight because they lack specific enforcement provisions and no victims can be identified with specificity before the laws take effect. Generally, it takes real victims to file lawsuits.
So, while I want to fight for my clients and get an injunction to stop these laws, it appears I too might need to wait.
But I will not be silent.
I want people to know these laws pose real threats to real people. These laws normalize antagonism toward LGBTQ+ people, causing them to feel unwelcome and unsafe in their hometowns and schools. And that's just wrong.
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