After eight years of writing about the Kansas experiment, disasters and bad news out of Kansas, I have to say how fantastic it is to see a Democratic Governor offer Kansans GOOD NEWS to celebrate now and again.
Stephanie Mott, an LGBT rights advocates and transgender advocate for her cause passed away earlier this year, but on January 30, was able to be present as the Governor extended protections to LGBT state employees against discrimination.
Today, a moment she and Equality Kansas, an organization she helped steer, came to reality, as Kansas Department of Health & Environment officially revised their policy allowing individuals born in Kansas to change their birth certificate to reflect their true identity.
In a phone interview with Thomas Witt, director of Equality Kansas, I was informed: “One problem we had for transgender individual was that they had great difficulties registering to vote. Their drivers license may have their true gender, and when their birth certificate didn’t match, they were forced to jump a series of hurdles that no one else had to jump. Transgender individuals were forced to out themselves due to this policy, which opened them up to all sorts of discriminatory acts.”
Thomas Witt continued: “This applies to individuals who were born in Kansas, who have moved. And if they have moved to states with even more toxic rules about making the change now have a chance to correct their birth records.”
For once, Kansas offered to individuals born here a light in the face of darkness.