States’ push to define sex decried as erasing trans people

By JOHN HANNA
AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill in Kansas and similar legislation in at least seven other states have LGBTQ-rights advocates worrying about a sweeping Republican-led effort to erase the legal existence of transgender men and women. A Kansas Senate committee could vote next week on a measure that would define what it means to be male and female in state law, basing people’s legal gender identities on their anatomy at birth. Critics say such measures could prevent transgender people from changing their driver’s licenses and birth certificates so that they match their gender identities. Those behind the bills say they’re responding to parents and others who are uncomfortable with “biological men” or “biological boys” sharing spaces meant for women and girls.