News & Commentary

Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said Republican lawmakers had disregarded medical professionals, transgender youth and their families in voting to override Kelly’s veto.

D.C. Hiegert, a legal fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said GOP lawmakers are out of step with most Kansans on the issue. “It's just really frustrating to see a small amount of people in power continually introduce bills that target this community that has done nothing wrong,

In a joint press release, Loud Light, the ACLU of Kansas, Kansas Interfaith Action and several other pro-LGBTQ+ rights groups condemned the veto override and vowed to connect trans youth and their families with the resources they will need to continue care elsewhere.

All told, Missouri lawmakers have filed 32 anti-LGBTQ bills this year, among the most in the nation, according to a database from the American Civil Liberties Union that tracks legislation nationwide.

D.C. Hiegert, a legal fellow with the ACLU of Kansas who is trans, told legislators in both the House and Senate committees that the bills could be unconstitutional. They run the risk of violating Kansas’ right to personal autonomy, as affirmed by the Kansas Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the court is also considering a separate appeal from the same case where the ACLU argues Kobach's position violates the constitutional rights of transgender people.

“It’s hard to know what version of bill that we’re going to see get traction because Kansas has seen a range of minor gender-affirming healthcare bills be introduced — some that would be much smaller in their impact on the community,” said D.C. Hiegert,

In Kansas, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have drafted a letter reminding election workers that a gender marker on a person’s identification does not need to match or correspond to a voter’s gender expression.

Donnavan Dillon, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Kansas, community organizer and self-identified member of the queer community, spends his days like most of his peers: he attends classes, does homework, goes to work and hangs out with his friends, when he finds the time.