News & Commentary

“What it’s about is politicians getting in the way of parents, children and their medical providers,” said D.C. Hiegert, a legal fellow with the ACLU of Kansas, in an interview with Kansas Capitol Bureau.

“The lack of clarity is by design because it allows them to disclaim the worst possible interpretation while also allowing for the worst possible outcome to happen,” said Micah Kubic, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, which opposed the law.

“Companies have made it clear that they are not interested in doing business with states that discriminate against workers and their families," Kelly says.

GOVERNMENTKansas Gov. Laura Kelly rejects transgender bathroom bill, gender-affirming care banAndrew BahlTopeka Capital-Journal

THERE ARE TIMES when I wonder whether I’m in denial about the perilous state of trans rights; I find my attention snapping from a lovely dinner with my polycule, most of whom are trans, to the screaming Mouth of Sauron that is social media’s endless shouting about how me and my people are all going to die. It can feel convincing; the evidence piles up with every legislative filing, from coast to coast. It’s a bleak picture made up of far more than unkind words.

The Republican lawmaker who introduced the bill said it would be enforced via student-athletes’ physical exams.

The Kansas Legislature voted to override the Democratic governor's veto of a bill that bans transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports from kindergarten through college. It is the latest push of several anti-trans bills introduced by Republican legislators in the state.

"The sports ban has never sincerely been about protecting women's sports," said Micah Kubic, the executive director of the ACLU of Kansas. "Rather, it arises out of the same gender discrimination, stereotyping, and paternalism that has held back progress for cisgender women athletes for centuries."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas released a poll on voting rights Friday. The civil rights advocacy group found that 70% of Kansans support measures to make voting easier, rather than adding additional restrictions.