In July, Senate Bill 244 took effect in Kansas, invalidating the birth certificates and driver's licenses of people who have changed the gender markers on their IDs. The law also bans people from using bathrooms or lockers in public buildings that don’t match their gender assigned at birth. And it allows people to file lawsuits against others they see breaking this law. This has made life a lot harder for trans people in Kansas, many of whom have had to scramble to get new IDs, or are scared they’ll face legal consequences for simply using the bathroom. Last month, author and opinion writer M. Gessen published a piece exploring the consequences of the new law in the New York Times. Gessen is a Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning columnist who’s written a dozen books – many of them about autocracy in Russia and beyond. They told KCUR’s Nomin Ujiyediin what drew them to Kansas, and what they found when they visited.
Plus, more on these stories:
- Wichita voters will decide in November whether to approve a $615 million-dollar bond issue, which would include funds to preserve the district’s two oldest high schools.
- The Kansas Bureau of Investigation wants to build a new headquarters in downtown Topeka.
- A new analysis by AAA found that most children are being transitioned out of child safety seats too soon.
- The future of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays is uncertain, and some reports say it could close as early as this year.
- An investigation is underway after a 30-year-old inmate at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility was found dead earlier this week.
- Wichita State will hold its 11th annual Purple Mile event next week to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
- Crime Stoppers of Wichita and Sedgwick County is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the homicide of a Wichita woman.
Producers: Haley Crowson and Fletcher Powell
Editors: Haley Crowson and Suzanne Perez
Contributors: Jenni Anima, Zach Boblitt, Daniel Caudill, Suzanne Perez, Kami Steinle and Nomin Ujiyediin
Theme music: Torin Andersen
Digital editor: Haley Crowson
