Kansas will no longer change a person's birth certificates to reflect their preferred gender identity. The announcement from the state health department on Friday, brings them into compliance with a new law that took effect in July.
From 2019 through June 2023, more than 900 Kansas residents changed the gender markers on their birth certificates and nearly 400 changed their driver's licenses. Both documents list a person's “sex.”
Kobach issued a legal opinion in late June saying that not only does the new law prevent such changes, it requires the state to reverse previous changes to its records. The Department of Health and Environment said that people who have changed their birth certificates can keep those documents, but new copies will revert to listing the sex assigned at birth.
Kobach said he is pleased that Kelly's administration is complying with the new law, adding in a statement, “The intent of Kansas legislators was clear.”