A federal judge says the state of Kansas should not change birth certificates for transgender residents to reflect their gender identities.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree in Kansas City upheld a legal challenge from Republican state attorney general Kris Kobach to block the changes.   A state law took effect July 1st that bans changes in birth certificates and drivers licenses.

Kobach issued a statement after the judge’s ruling, saying “The Court held that SB 180 means what it says – birth certificates in Kansas must reflect biological sex. As long as I am attorney general, the laws of Kansas will be enforced as written. The Legislature decided that birth certificates must reflect biological reality, and they were quite clear in how they wrote the law. ”