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"This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans," Monica Bennet, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas, said in a statement. "It undermines our state's strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution."

Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, told Reuters that the mismatch between a person’s presentation and their driver’s license “puts them at risk of discrimination or violence” when interacting with law enforcement, employers or housing providers.

“This is a devastating, but hopefully temporary, setback for our clients and transgender people across the state of Kansas,” said Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The harm of this law has already had sweeping impacts on the lives of transgender people like our clients, threatening their ability to hold a job, go to school, or go about their daily lives. We all deserve the freedom to be ourselves without politicians interfering in our lives, and we will keep fighting SB 244 until it is erased from state law entirely. We look forward to demonstrating at a temporary injunction hearing that this law is unconstitutional and deeply harmful and should be enjoined.”

The ACLU’s challenge focuses on S.B. 244’s driver’s license provision, arguing that denying the plaintiffs documents that accurately reflect their gender is a violation of equal protection laws and infringes on their freedom of expression.

“This is a devastating, but hopefully temporary, setback for our clients and transgender people across the state of Kansas,” said Harper Seldin, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU. “The harm of this law has already had sweeping impacts on the lives of transgender people like our clients, threatening their ability to hold a job, go to school, or go about their daily lives.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state government are using the pseudonyms Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe and are being represented by the ACLU and Ballard Spahr LLP. They are asking for a temporary restraining order, which would pause enforcement of the law while litigation continues.

A judge for the Douglas County District Court says he hopes to put out a written decision on Tuesday related to a lawsuit by the ACLU and two transgender Kansans challenging a recently enacted Kansas law dictating bathroom usage and legal documents for transgender Kansans.

The ACLU of Kansas represents several transgender Kansans as intervenors in the case. The transgender Kansans also do not object to Kobach dropping the case, ACLU attorney Monica Bennett said in a Feb. 24 filing.

Opponents, including the ACLU of Kansas, say bathroom bans are rooted in misinformation and do not improve safety.