Kansas enacted a law last year that ended legal recognition of transgender identities, with the measure only recognizing male and female sexes based on reproductive systems at birth. That law and others introduced around the nation this year are part of a push by conservatives who say states have a legitimate interest in restricting transgender people from competing on sports teams or using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, reports the Associated Press. Among other complications for transgender people, such laws can cause a mismatch with a person's official ID when they are stopped by police.
Critics argue the proposals to legally define sex as binary erase transgender and nonbinary people’s existences, making it hard to update documents and participate in public life. They've also created uncertainty for intersex individuals. Some of the measures would remove the word gender from state code and replace it with sex, a conflation medical experts say is outdated. Measures have been proposed this year in at least 13 states, and advocates say the number will grow. Many political observers say the Republican focus on transgender people is an attempt to rally a voting base with a “wedge issue” to replace abortion rights, which the public has largely favored. But opponents say efforts to codify sex are likely to face court challenges, just as other restrictions such as youth medical care have. With the latest round of bills defining man and woman, it’s clear “the intent is to make it as difficult as possible for transgender people to operate within a state,” said Sarah Warbelow, legal vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, a large LGBTQ+ rights group. “It’s an attempt to deny transgender people’s existence,” she said.