gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

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 ...

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 th ...

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

vetoed A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto pow ...

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 ...

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

since 2021. However, many of Kelly's vetoes were overridden by the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

supermajority in the

Kansas legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

and became law. Two lawsuits, one in state court and the other in federal court, challenged the constitutionality of the state's ban on

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

, and on November 4, 2014, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Kansas' ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. His ruling was stayed as the state sought a stay pending appeal without success, and it took effect on November 12, 2014. From November 12, 2014 to the Supreme Court's ruling in ''

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 Protect ...

'' on June 26, 2015, marriage licenses were generally available to same-sex couples, but the state government continued to deny recognition to same-sex marriages in all other respects.

History and legality of same-sex sexual activity

Prior to European settlement of Kansas, there were no known social or legal punishments for engaging in homosexual activity. Among several Native American tribes, customs of "

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

" individuals existed: people who would dress, act and live as the opposite gender, as well as perform tasks associated with the opposite gender. Such individuals are known as '' míⁿxoge'' in the

Kansa language Kansa is a Siouan language of the Dhegihan group once spoken by the Kaw people of Oklahoma. Vice President Charles Curtis spoke Kansa as a child. The last mother-tongue speaker, Ralph Pepper, died in June 1982. Classification Kansa is a Dheg ...

, spoken by the Kaw people. The Native Americans did not share the typical Western views of

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

and sexuality. In 1855,

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sod ...

("crime against nature") was made a felony with a penalty of "not less than ten years". In 1859, this was changed to "not more than 10 years". In the 1925 case of ''State v. Hulbert'', the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the st ...

held that

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotu ...

, whether heterosexual or homosexual, violated the state's sodomy statute. A comprehensive reform of the law in 1969 resulted in a penalty of six months in jail and/or a fine of 1,000

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...

. The revision also legalized heterosexual sodomy; Kansas was one of the first U.S. states to do so. In 1976, a proposed bill to repeal the now-only homosexual sodomy law was approved by the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafti ...

by a vote of 21 to 19. However, it failed to be considered in the Senate. In 1989, in ''State v. Moppin'', the state Supreme Court held that

cunnilingus Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed by a person on the vulva or vagina of another person. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the human female genitalia, and its stimulation may result in a woman becoming sexually aroused ...

did not violate the state sodomy statute. The Kansas Legislature acted quickly, passing a law the following year forbidding the "oral-genital stimulation between the tongue of a male and the genital area of a female." This law excluded lesbian relations but reintroduced criminal penalties for certain heterosexual conduct. In 1992, the law was amended to include lesbian relations as well. Sterilization against "habitual criminals", including those convicted under the sodomy law, has a long history in the state of Kansas. In 1913, the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

passed a law allowing the sterilization of state inmates. This law was unanimously upheld by the state Supreme Court in 1928. By the end of 1934, 1,362 people had been sterilized under the law; 19% via the procedures of

castration Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharma ...

or

oophorectomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'' is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference ...

, which the state defended as "limit nglewdness and vice". Through 1948, the number of sterilizations had reached about 3,000, the third-highest in the entire

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 territori ...

, a majority on the ground of "insanity and mental retardation". The law was finally repealed in 1965. The

U.S. Supreme Court 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 ...

's 2003 decision in ''

Lawrence v. Texas ''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for consensual, adult non- procreative sexual activity (commonly referred to as so ...

'' rendered laws banning consensual sexual activity unenforceable, including that of Kansas. '' State v. Limon'', the first case decided under the ''Lawrence'' precedent, invalidated a provision of the state's

Romeo and Juliet law In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behavior). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexua ...

that assigned harsher sentences in statutory rape cases where the parties were of the same sex.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Marriage

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

became legal in Kansas following the

U.S. Supreme Court 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 ...

decision in ''

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 Protect ...

'' on June 26, 2015, which found the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples unconstitutional. By June 29, the next business day after the decision, 25 of the state's 32 judicial districts were issuing licenses to same-sex couples, and some of those that were not had yet to receive an application from a same-sex couple. By June 30, all judicial districts were either issuing same-sex marriage licenses or had announced their intention to do so. Kansas for the previous decade had recognized neither

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

nor any other form of legal recognition of same-sex unions. The state explicitly banned same-sex marriage and all other types of same-sex unions both by statute and by constitutional amendment. The state's definitions and restrictions had been challenged in several lawsuits. On October 7, 2014, officials in Johnson County began accepting licenses for marriage applications, due to the Supreme Court's recent refusal to hear a

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

case now binding on Kansas. The state Attorney General filed a lawsuit in order to stop those actions. One couple obtained a marriage license and married on October 10, on the steps of the Johnson County courthouse. On October 10, 2014, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered officials in Johnson County to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, though it allowed for court clerks to accept applications for marriage licenses from same-sex couples. It scheduled a hearing for November 6. On November 18, 2014, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that Johnson County had been within its jurisdiction to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on its interpretation of the law. It lifted the stay on Johnson County from issuing the licenses, but did not direct other counties to issue them. Judge Daniel D. Crabtree heard oral arguments on October 31, 2014 in another lawsuit in U.S. district court, ''Marie v. Moser''. He found the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on November 4, but stayed enforcement of his ruling for a week. The state sought a stay pending appeal without success from the

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distric ...

, and Crabtree's order preventing the state from enforcing its ban on same-sex marriage took effect on November 12 when the

U.S. Supreme Court 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 ...

declined his request for a stay pending appeal.

Domestic partnership

The cities of

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

and

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

have established domestic partnership registries.

Adoption and parenting

In November 2012, the

Kansas Court of Appeals The Kansas Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state of Kansas. History The Kansas Legislature created the first Kansas Court of Appeals in 1895, to help the Kansas Supreme Court with an increasingly heavy casel ...

ruled in the case of ''In the Matter of the Adoption of I. M.'' that a single person who is not a biological parent of a child cannot petition to adopt that child without terminating the other parent's parental rights. However, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled on February 22, 2013, in ''Frazier v. Goudschaal'', that the partner of a biological parent may receive parental rights according to the best interest of the children in some circumstances, such as where there is no second parent and thus no termination of parental rights is involved, and the partner has assumed a parenting role of the children. Since the legalization of same-sex marriage, married same-sex couples have been allowed to adopt. Lesbian couples can access

in vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...

, and state law recognizes the non-genetic, non-gestational mother as a legal parent to a child born via donor insemination, but only if the parents are married. In addition, Kansas permits and recognizes both gestational and traditional surrogacy contracts, though the latter may result in more legal complications than the former. The state treats same-sex and different-sex couples equally under the same terms and conditions. Kansas law allows adoption agencies to choose not to place children in certain homes if it would violate the agency's religious or moral convictions.

Discrimination protections

Kansas counties and cities with sexual orientation and gender identity protection

Between 2007 and 2015, Kansas prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in government employment due to an executive order issued by Governor

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 ...

in August 2007. Governor

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...

rescinded that order on February 10, 2015. In January 2019, Governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

, shortly after taking office, signed an

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

to protect state government employees and contractors from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The cities of Fairway, Kansas City,

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

,

Leawood Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,902. History 19th century After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the area ...

,

Lenexa Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is one of four principal cities of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is the ...

,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, Merriam,

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Olathe,

Overland Park Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. ...

, Prairie Village,

Roeland Park Roeland Park is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and located within the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,871. History The community was named after John Roe, an immigrant f ...

,

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

, Westwood and Westwood Hills, Kansas, Westwood Hills, as well as Wyandotte County, Kansas, Wyandotte County, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in public and private employment, housing and public accommodations. Other cities, including the capital city of

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

, Emporia, Kansas, Emporia and Hutchinson, Kansas, Hutchinson, prohibit discrimination against city employees on account of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Likewise, the county of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee, and the city of Wichita, Kansas, Wichita prohibit discrimination against city/county employees but on the basis of sexual orientation only. On November 6, 2012, the voters of the cities of Salina, Kansas, Salina and Hutchinson, Kansas, Hutchinson both voted to repeal city anti-discrimination ordinances on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In January 2014, ''Kansas House Bill 2453'' was introduced which would have allowed people motivated by religious opposition to same-sex relationships to refuse to provide services to same-sex couples. On February 12, the Kansas House of Representatives passed the legislation by a 72–49 vote. The Kansas Senate did not take up the legislation. It was part of a broader movement to anticipate resistance to the recognition of same-sex marriages. Since 2016, Senate Bill 175 (Kansas Legislature 2016 Legislative Session), Kansas law has prohibited public universities from "[denying] a religious student association any benefit available to any other student association based on those organizations' sincerely held religious beliefs".

''Bostock v. Clayton County''

On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''Bostock v. Clayton County'', consolidated with ''Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda'', and ''R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission'' that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is discrimination on the basis of sex, and Civil Rights Act of 1964#Title VII—equal employment opportunity, Title VII therefore protects LGBT employees from discrimination. In August 2020, the Kansas Human Rights Commission announced in light of ''Bostock'' that it will also investigate and resolve cases alleging discrimination in housing and public accommodations, such as retail stores and educational institutions. Any business with four or more employees will be covered; whereas the Supreme Court ruling only affects businesses with at least 15 employees.

Hate crime law

At present, Kansas' hate crime law provides penalty enhancements for the commission of a crime motivated by the victim's sexual orientation. It does not cover gender identity. However, federal law has covered both categories since the ''Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act'' was signed into law by President Barack Obama in October 2009.

Regulation of LGBT material

In March 2024, the Kansas State Legislature passed a bill redefining content containing "acts of homosexuality" as being harmful to minors, in the same category as most forms of pornography. The law went on to require government ID-based age verification to access such material.

Conversion therapy

In June 2020,

Roeland Park Roeland Park is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and located within the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,871. History The community was named after John Roe, an immigrant f ...

became the first city in the state to ban conversion therapy on minors.

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

followed suit in April 2021. In October 2021, Prairie Village became the third city within Kansas to legally ban conversion therapy.

Transgender rights

Since 2023, Kansas does not issue new birth certificates with amended gender markers due to SB 180. After the passage of Kansas SB 180, Senate Bill 180, only "birth sex only for the individual" would be listed on a birth certificate and on a driver licence officially - under new laws and policies that go into legal effect within Kansas. Kansas in the past couple of years legally allowed transgender people to change the sex marker on their birth certificate, driver's license and other personal documents by court order. When Kansas began allowing this, only two states remained that did not: Ohio and Tennessee. After the law was passed on July 1, governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

announced that the Kansas Department of Revenue would continue serving requests for citizens to change their gender identity. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued two officials in Kelly's administration over her denouncement of the law, and a temporary two-week restraining order was granted by judge Teresa Watson prohibiting gender identity changes to driver's licenses, citing a "public safety concern." In October 2018, Lambda Legal filed a suit in court arguing that the policy of denying transgender people an updated birth certificate reflecting their gender identity is unconstitutional. The move followed judicial decisions striking down similar bans in LGBT rights in Idaho, Idaho and LGBT rights in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico earlier that year. In June 2019, Kansas became the 48th U.S. state to allow transgender individuals to change their gender on official documents. The Office of Vital Statistics will issue an updated birth certificate upon receipt of an affidavit signed by the applicant requesting a change in sex designation, a completed "Application to Amend a Kansas Birth Certificate" form, and one of the following: an already updated driver's license, an already updated passport, or certification from a healthcare professional or mental health professional confirming "based on his or her professional opinion the true gender identity of the applicant and that it is expected that this will continue to be the gender with which the applicant will identify in the future". The Department of Revenue will issue an updated driver's license or state ID after the submission of either a court order, an already updated birth certificate, or medical attestation including a letter signed by the applicant requesting the change and a letter from a licensed physician stating that the "applicant has undergone appropriate clinical treatment or that the physician has re-evaluated the applicant and determined that gender reclassification based on physical criteria is appropriate". In 2022, a middle school math teacher in Geary County, Kansas sued the superintendent, complaining that the school requires her to use each student's preferred name. A federal judge granted part of a preliminary injunction in favor of the teacher while her case proceeded, allowing her to out the students to their parents.

Healthcare and sports

, the Kansas State High School Activities Association stated that schools may decide on a case-by-case basis the appropriate athletic gender team for a transgender student. In both April 2021 and April 2022, the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

passed bills (twice over) that ban transgender athletes from participating in any female sports team, but Governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

vetoed both bills. On February 22, 2023, the Kansas House voted 82–40 to ban transgender girls from girls' sports, while the Kansas Senate voted 26–11 to ban doctors from providing gender-affirming care to minors and voted 26–10 to bar transgender people of any age from gendered public accommodations like bathrooms, requiring them to use the space associated with their gender assigned at birth. These were not veto-proof majorities: the House bill was two votes short, and the two Senate bills were each one vote short. In March 2023, Governor Kelly vetoed the bill for the third time. Just immediately before Easter, the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

voted (by a two-thirds majority) in both houses to override and bypass the Governor veto to enact the legislation on legally banning transgender individuals from female sports and athletics - effective from July 1. On April 12, 2024, Governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

vetoed a ban on hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery for minors. A veto session will begin April 29; Republicans could override the governor's veto.

Bathroom bans

In April 2023, a bill passed the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

to explicitly legally ban any transgender individuals within bathrooms and locker rooms of schools, hotels, bars and/or other businesses big or small statewide. The Governor of Kansas vetoed the bill out of concern of being unconstitutional, but the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

overridden the veto to enact the law by a two-thirds majority. Effective from July 1.

Public opinion

Recent opinion polls have shown that support for LGBT people across the U.S. state of Kansas is increasing significantly and opposition is decreasing. A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) opinion poll found that 57% of Kansas residents supported same-sex marriage, while 37% opposed it and 6% were unsure. Additionally, 67% supported an anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation and gender identity. 26% were opposed. A 2022 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) opinion poll found that 69% of Kansas residents, while 30% opposed it and 1% were unsure. Additionally, 77% supported an anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation and gender identity. 23% were opposed.

Summary

References

{{LGBT rights in the United States LGBT rights in Kansas