News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas on the same day put out a call to action, encouraging supporters to send a message to the governor, urging her to commute all remaining death sentences. In 2024, the ACLU tried to abolish the death penalty in Kansas through litigation. Commuting Kansas death sentences helps “confront the criminal justice system’s deep failures and stop further injustice,” the organization said.

According to the ACLU of Kansas, this extends to restrooms and locker rooms, with an additional provision that prohibits trans people from updating their driver’s licenses and state IDs to reflect their gender.

The ACLU of Kansas and partner groups sued Dodge City, in majority-minority Ford County, arguing its citywide elections diluted the votes of the city's Latino majority.

Federal ICE agents have already invoked the state law multiple times in Olathe this summer — adding it to city code would let violations be prosecuted in municipal court too.

The American Civil Liberties Union now devotes half its time nationally to detention and immigration issues, said Micah Kubic, executive director of the Kansas ACLU. They monitor and sometimes oppose proposed bills.

On Feb. 25, Siobhan Kirchstein received an official letter from the Kansas Division of Vehicles instructing her to surrender her driver’s license. She was one of hundreds of Kansans who received such letters when Senate Bill 244, a hastily passed piece of legislation, invalidated driver’s licenses on which the gender marker did not match the holder’s sex as assigned at birth.

The ACLU of Kansas immediately sued over the law; the evidentiary court hearing for a temporary injunction against the law is scheduled for September 29.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas claimed via email that law enforcement entities are using the HALO Act to discourage bystanders from documenting the activity of federal agents. The nonprofit organization also claimed the law raises safety concerns for Kansans who encounter agents.

On August 4, voters in Kansas and Missouri voted down ballot measures that would have opened the door for attacks on our democracy. In both states, politicians referred measures to the ballot to deceive voters and attempt to diminish the power of the people. But the people struck those efforts down by wide margins: 61% voted No in Kansas, and a striking 80% voted No in Missouri. The Kansas measure would have dismantled the state’s impartial Supreme Court and made it subject to partisan elections, while a measure in Missouri would have made it next to impossible for voters to use the citizen-initiated ballot process to protect their rights with citizen-led ballot initiatives.