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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/11/2210858/-It-s-Personal-Now-How-My-State-Solidified-My-Resolve-to-Fight-for-Change>
"Two of the happiest moments of my gender affirmation journey were when I was
able to change my birth certificate’s gender marker to female, and subsequently
make the same change on my driver’s license. The sense of pride and fulfillment
I felt from having my true gender confirmed on my ID documents brought tears of
joy.
That was in 2021.
A couple of Mondays ago, it was time to renew my driver’s license. I dutifully
made my appointment and showed up with my birth certificate, old driver’s
license, and proof of address in hand. I was expecting this renewal to be a
routine, five-minute process. But it soon became clear that something else was
afoot. The licensing official stared at her computer screen with a perplexed
look, and then looked over my birth certificate. Then, she asked for a moment
and disappeared into the back office with my papers. After what seemed like
forever, she finally returned and informed me that they could not accept my
birth certificate.
I instantly knew why. This was Kansas’ brand new “Women’s Bill of Rights” at
work. Despite its name, this new law provides no protections or entitlements
for women. Rather, it defines the words “female,” “male,” “woman,” and “man” in
such a way that transgender people legally do not exist. Further, it disallows
transgender people from changing their gender markers on their driver’s
licenses and birth certificates.
As someone who had made these changes before the law came into effect, I had
hoped that I would be grandfathered into keeping them. But my hope was
shattered in this moment.
The DMV had a scanned copy of my original birth certificate on file, so they
used that instead, and forced me to have the “M” gender marker placed back on
my driver’s license. The licensing official made no further eye contact with me
and did not wish me a pleasant day when the appointment was finally over. That
was probably for the best, since I probably would have wished her the day she
deserved as a part of this system of oppression. Dejected and defeated, I took
my papers and my new license, walked back to my car, and sobbed.
I felt erased and invalidated. Exactly how Republicans in my state wanted me to
feel when they pushed this vile piece of bigoted legal garbage through the
legislative process. They want me to feel like I’m not welcome in Kansas. They
want me to feel fear of discrimination or harassment every time I must show my
license. And they want me to disappear in whatever way is most expedient.
And they’ll get what they wanted – all except for the last bit. I’m not
disappearing. I’ve been preparing to run for state representative because I
want to fight back against the next steps in their plan to eliminate
transgender people. That Friday, I appeared in person at the Secretary of
State’s office and made my candidacy official. In the face of this unmasked
hate, I will not hide. In a state that wants to eliminate me, I will not be
brought to heel."
Via Janet Logan.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
