Kansas House Bill 2453, also known as the Religious Freedom Act, is a piece of legislation proposed in the state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

that would allow people to refuse to provide services in any way related to any relationship (same-sex or otherwise) under the name "marriage, domestic partnership, civil union or similar arrangement" if their objection to doing so is based on their religious beliefs. Representative Charles Macheers (R-Shawnee) introduced the legislation on January 16, 2014. It passed in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

but was not taken up by the Kansas Senate.

Background

does not have any legislation preventing discrimination on the basis of either

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

and

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

. Based on an executive order by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebeli ...

, Kansas has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity (in government employment only) since 2007, and has since been

repealed A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

on February 10, 2015 by another Executive Order by the

of Kansas Sam Brownback. Although

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

is now legal throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

since June 26, 2015, under the

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection ...

decision of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Supporters of this legislation felt religious individuals and institutions needed protection from getting sued or otherwise punished for denying services to gay and lesbian couples.

Provisions

The legislation says that no individual or religious entity shall be required by any governmental entity to do any of the following, if it would be contrary to the sincerely held religious beliefs of the individual or religious entity regarding sex or gender: *Provide any services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges; provide counseling, adoption, foster care and other social services; or provide employment or employment benefits, related to, or related to the celebration of, any marriage, domestic partnership, civil union or similar arrangement. *Solemnize any marriage, domestic partnership, civil union or similar arrangement. *Treat any marriage, domestic partnership, civil union or similar arrangement as valid.

Reception

The legislation passed the state's Republican-dominated House on February 12, 2014, by a 72–49 vote. State Senate President

Susan Wagle Susan Wagle (born September 27, 1953) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 30th district from 2001 to 2021. She was elected Kansas Senate President in 2013 and was reelected in 2017. ...

said she anticipated that the bill would not pass the Senate: "A strong majority of my members support laws that define traditional marriage, protect religious institutions, and protect individuals from being forced to violate their personal moral values. However, my members also don't condone discrimination." On February 18, the Catholic bishops of Kansas reiterated their support. Representative Emily Perry (D-Overland Park) criticized the bill, citing a hypothetical example of emergency services personnel such as a police officer who, arriving at the scene of a

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

dispute, could endanger lives by refusing protective services. Holly Weatherford, spokeswoman for the Kansas chapter of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

, said "Kansas would be the first state to legalize discrimination on the part of employees—government employees." The Kansas Chamber of Commerce said it wanted coverage of private businesses and nonreligious entities removed from the bill. Others disputed whether a distinction can be made between acting on the basis of a same-sex marriage and acting on the basis of sexual orientation. On February 19, Senator Jeff King (R-Independence), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said his committee would not consider the legislation, ending its consideration. The bill's opponents characterize it as establishing second-class citizenship for gay,

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

(

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

) people, while its supporters believe it prevents the state from requiring anyone to perform an action he or she sincerely believes to be wrong as a matter of religious principle.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Text of the bill
Kansas Legislature Same-sex marriage in the United States Kansas statutes 2014 in Kansas Discrimination against LGBT people in the United States LGBT in Kansas 2014 in LGBT history

Background

Provisions

Reception

See also

References

External links