KS Senate overrides Kelly’s veto on bill banning trans people from single-sex spaces

The Kansas Senate voted Wednesday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a sweeping bill affecting the lives of transgender Kansans but rejected a bill that would restrict health care for transgender youth.

The chamber voted 28-12 to pass the “women’s bill of rights” over Kelly’s veto. The bill now head to the House where lawmakers approved it earlier this month with a veto proof-majority.

If the House overrides Kelly’s veto Kansas would be the first state in the nation to approve the policy, which comes amid a raft of anti-trans bills in red states nationwide. The bill would bar transgender and nonbinary Kansans from single-sex spaces that do not match their assigned sex at birth.

The Senate passed the override with relatively little debate. The House and Senate also successfully overrode Kelly’s veto on a related bill that requires county jails to separate inmates by gender as defined in the “women’s bill of rights.”

The sweeping bill defines man and woman in state statute based solely upon reproductive capability and explains the state has an interest in protecting spaces designated for women.

Though the language of the bill is vague, transgender Kansans say they believe it is designed to functionally erase their identities in society.

It would also block gender non-conforming Kansans from changing the marker on their driver’s license to be consistent with their gender identity. Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration has warned that state agencies could lose millions in federal funding because compliance with the bill would put them out of compliance with non-discrimination requirements.

“The fact that someone even had the balls to say this is something we should try to pass is big enough,” said Lane Rozin, a 19-year-old transgender man who attends the University of Kansas. “It shows that there are people in our government system that are trying to erase our identities.”

The ability to change a drivers license identifier and access health care, he said, is lifesaving.

The bill could open the door to lawsuits against public entities that do not comply with the law’s restrictions against on transgender people entering single-sex spaces not aligned with their sex assigned at birth.

The direct enforcement mechanism is unclear. Proponents have said the bill would preempt courts that might force single-sex spaces to be open to individuals who don’t have female genitalia.

Supporters said the bill was important to preserving spaces that were created for women.

“A woman, a grandchild, should be able to walk into a restroom and know they’re in there with other females,” Rep Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, said during a meeting of the GOP caucus. “If more gender-neutral bathrooms need to be built to accommodate, then fine.”

“If more gender-neutral bathrooms need to be built to accommodate, then fine.”

Kelly has rejected five anti-trans bills this year. Earlier this month, the Legislature voted to override Kelly’s veto on a bill banning transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports.

Lawmakers fell short Wednesday of overriding the governor on a bill that bans hormone therapy and gender transition surgery for minors by punishing its providers.

Proponents said the aim was to prevent minors from making medical decisions they may regret later.

Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson Republican, said the Legislature must step in when parents and the medical establishment have lost their way.

“It is never OK to mutilate a minor. They can’t possibly know what’s in their best interest,” he said. “Only when confusion, chaos, and, frankly, evil reigns in a society is this sort of abhorrence allowed.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle rejected the bill, arguing it unnecessarily infringed on medical decisions.

“This bill goes too far and we are reaching out to take that place of parental responsibility with supporting their children,” said Sen. Pat Pettey, a Kansas City Democrat.

The Star’s Jenna Barackman contributed to this report.