Last month, Kansas passed a law requiring that the gender listed on all driver’s licenses and birth certificates match the person’s sex at birth. 

Similar laws have been adopted by other states.

But Kansas is the first state to have made its law retroactive. Meaning that any person who previously changed their gender marker no longer has a valid license or birth certificate. With no grace period. 1,700 Kansans woke up to find their documents were no longer valid.

Invalidating government-issued I.D. is just one of the ways transgender rights have been rolled back by recent state and federal policy changes. 

And that’s part of what’s prompting trans people to move to states with more legal protections. Including Washington. 

One Seattle nonprofit is working to help trans people living in conservative states to relocate.

Guests:

• Adalyn - currently in the process of relocating to Seattle with Traction's help

• Michael Woodward - Executive Director of Traction, or “Trans Community Action,” a non-profit based here in Seattle.

• Aspen Coyle - Program Manager for Traction’s Project Open Arms, designed to assist trans people moving to Western Washington.

Related Links:

• TRACTION website
  • How to volunteer with Traction
  • Traction events

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