FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
CONTACT:
ACLU of Kansas: Esmie Tseng, Communications Director, [email protected]
Equality Kansas: Thomas A. Alonzo, Chair and Executive Director, [email protected]
Kansas Interfaith Action: Rabbi Moti Rieber, Executive Director, [email protected]
Loud Light Civic Action: Melissa Stiehler, Advocacy Director, [email protected]
Mainstream Coalition: Michael Poppa (he/him), Executive Director, [email protected]
Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes: Hanna Sumpter, Dir. of Communications, [email protected]
TOPEKA, KS – The Legislature has overridden the Governor’s veto on one of the most sweeping and intrusive anti-trans bills in the nation, SB 244.
Statement from Micah Kubic (he/him), Executive Director, at ACLU of Kansas:
“This discriminatory bill undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution. It subjects people to unacceptable privacy violations and puts them in harm’s way. Transgender Kansas should have protection and dignity in our state instead of persecution. We are disappointed to see a policy adopted that is based on misinformation against our trans and intersex family and friends, intruding into the most private corners of our lives.”
Statement from Thomas A. Alonzo (he/him), Chair and Executive Director at Equality Kansas:
“In Kansas, we have a major water crisis, we still haven't passed Medicaid Expansion or Medical Marijuana, and the Legislature is obsessed with buckling down and pursuing the persecution and erasure of the Transgender/Queer Community. They are obsessed with a religious extremism that is chasing out the future of Kansas–our young people. This bill and its rhetoric come from the faction that preaches a litany of less government, yet here we are with this shameful and outrageous intrusion.”
Statement from Rabbi Moti Rieber (he/him), Executive Director at Kansas Interfaith Action:
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of trans Kansans who, like each of us, are made in the image of God. The process by which this law came about is yet another assault on the democratic process by depriving Kansans of our right to engage in public comment. We know that thousands of people of faith and conscience all over this state understand the moral imperative to protect the most vulnerable among us. Instead of protecting the most vulnerable, this bill enshrines inaccurate medical definitions, bolsters harmful stereotypes and misinformation, and is full of falsehoods. Proverbs 29:19 tells us that ‘If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.’ SB 244 is a wicked bill.”
Statement from Anthony Alvarez (he/him), Program Staff at Loud Light Civic Action:
“As a trans Kansan, this law has deputized the people of our state to turn against one another and given them a financial incentive to do so. Every aspect of my public life will be subject to policing– from when I show my ID to vote or go to the bank to when I want to visit my friends in their dorm room or when I wash my hands before I eat. I am not alone in this new state sanctioned harassment, as all Kansans will have to prove to the Attorney General that they belong here if they are subject to accusations by this conspiracy minded minority.”
Statement from Michael Poppa (he/him), Executive Director at Mainstream Coalition:
“Kansas families are being crushed by rising housing and healthcare costs. Small businesses face workforce shortages. Rural communities are losing hospitals and struggling with failing infrastructure. These are the issues that demand action. Instead, the Christian nationalist faction of the legislative supermajority is wasting taxpayer dollars targeting transgender Kansans—an already marginalized community—and pushing anti-democratic ideology disguised as religion. That is not leadership, and it is not reflective of Kansas values. The elected representatives who lack the courage to stand up to this extremism should be ashamed–and must be held accountable in November.”
Statement from Taylor Morton (she/her), Legislative Affairs and Organizing Manager, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes:
“The Legislature should be focused on meeting Kansans’ real needs, not deciding their identities. SB 244 wrongly codifies gender as one’s sex assigned at birth and punishes transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse Kansans under the guise of protecting Kansans. Showing an ID or using the restroom should not be a dangerous or invalidating act. Kansans need access to health care, support for children and families, and for lawmakers to stop attacking the rights and dignity of the 2SLGBTIA+ community.”
About SB 244: The original bill (HB 2426) required the state of Kansas to invalidate legally issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses to depict strictly someone’s sex assigned at birth. This was vastly expanded to include sex segregation provisions to be applied to "multiple-occupancy private space," which includes spaces like restrooms, hospital rooms, dorm rooms, domestic violence shelters, and more. This law criminalizes using the spaces not designated for your legally defined sex, with a civil penalty of $1,000 and being criminally charged with a class B misdemeanor for repeat violations. Government entities are banned from having non-segregated private spaces, and are mandated to enforce sex segregation or face steep fines.
Enforcement of this law also relies on individual reporting, in which an individual can accuse someone of not belonging in the space which will initiate an investigation and potential litigation by the Attorney General, where the accuser may receive financial compensation. The law does not include clarity on what the enforcement, investigation, and due process entails.
A motion passed to shut down debate before the final vote to override or sustain the veto, where they cut the microphone off when lawmakers offered their explanation of vote on opposing this bill. This was another part of repeated efforts to rush this bill into law while minimizing opportunities for opponents to voice concerns. In order to pass this bill, lawmakers abused emergency rules in order to skip the democratic process, including bill hearings to vet legislation and hear public comment. The bill goes into effect immediately upon publication, leaving little time for local governments to comply and Kansans to understand its impact on their day to day life.
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About ACLU of Kansas: The ACLU of Kansas is the statewide affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU of Kansas is dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For more information, visit our website at www.aclukansas.org.
About Equality Kansas: Equality Kansas was established in October 2005. Originally formed by the merger of independent LGBT advocacy groups in Topeka, Manhattan, and Wichita, Equality Kansas is a chapter-based grassroots organization. Our mission is to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We work towards our mission through education, public policy advocacy, and political action. More at eqks.org.
About Kansas Interfaith Action: Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA) is a statewide multi-faith advocacy organization that "puts faith into action" on critical social, economic and climate justice issues. Learn more at kansasinterfaithaction.org.
About Loud Light Civic Action: Loud Light Civic Action is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with the goal of protecting and advancing voting and civil rights in Kansas. Learn more at loudlightaction.org.
About Mainstream Coalition: Mainstream defends the constitutional promise of religious freedom for all by standing firmly for the separation of church and state. We advocate for policies that protect individual rights, push back against religious extremism, and uphold the First Amendment for everyone — not just the powerful few. Learn more at mainstreamcoalition.org.
About Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes: Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes is an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)4 nonprofit organization that advocates for sexual and reproductive health and rights in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. We lobby state lawmakers, mobilize more than 120,000 grassroots supporters, and engage in issue education in order to protect and expand access to health care and comprehensive sex education in the communities we serve, and to promote Planned Parenthood’s mission. Learn more at PPGPvotes.org.
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