Kansas legislative leaders were determined to bully and oppress a tiny minority of people.
And they didn’t care about any rules or norms or expectations of basic human decency that stood in their way.
In two sentences, that was the story from Wednesday’s travesty at the Kansas Statehouse. Without a single public hearing, overwhelming majorities of Republicans in the House and Senate voted to force transgender Kansans to use bathrooms in government buildings based on their biological sex at birth. No, it doesn’t matter if you’re a trans man with a long beard and mustache. You have to go to the women’s room. No, it doesn’t matter if you are a trans woman with lipstick and décolletage. You have to go to the men’s room.
House Democrats held the floor to debate the bill for six hours, but the Senate stayed in session to rubber stamp the legislation later that evening. Before Kansas knew what was happening, before they could speak up to let their lawmakers know how they felt about what was being done in their name, House Sustitute for Senate Bill 244 was sent to Gov. Laura Kelly.
Bill sponsor Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican, claimed in a Monday hearing that “I think it has to do with truth, accuracy. I think it has to do with public safety.”
She’s echoing the age-old libel against the LGBTQ+ community: that we are sexual deviants or threats to others.
That’s destructive. That’s hateful. It’s just plain wrong.
The bill doesn’t address those concerns anyway. Sexual assault and abuse are already illegal. You can be charged and convicted under state and federal law. The bill instead draws a giant target on the back of both transgender people and gender nonconforming people who are not transgender.
Three years ago, I wrote that banning trans students from sports teams would require genital inspections. House Speaker Dan Hawkins vehemently denied that the proposal did any such thing, and Republicans ultimately fell in line.
But guess what? Once House Bill 2238 took effect, it became clear that, yes, genital inspections would be required if questions arose. Just read official guidance from the Kansas State High Schools Activities Association: “If clarity is not achieved or if the original birth or adoption certificate is not available, the student’s parent/guardian shall produce documentation provided by a licensed physician indicating the biological sex of the student based upon an evaluation using current standard assessment protocols.”
That’s a lot of fancy words to avoid stating the doctors would have to look at K-12 students’ private areas to satisfy Kansas lawmakers.
I was right in 2023. And I’m right now.
This bill will lead to the persecution and abuse of Kansans for no reason other than looking different. If a woman decides to cut her hair short and wear a bulky sweater, what’s to stop someone from claiming she’s a man? If a man has long hair and a wispy build, what’s to stop someone from claiming he’s a woman? In both cases, nothing.
Lets be clear: That’s what’s what the people who introduced and advocated for this bill want. They want Kansans who aren’t like everyone else to feel different and persecuted. They want them to suffer.
The bill also provides cover for abusers. It empowers vigilantes to hunt and harm people for no reason other than their own subjective determination of gender. Thank goodness they now have Senate President Ty Masterson and Hawkins on their side.
There is one word for what this bill is and what this bill exhibits: animus.
It overflows with hate, rage and convenient culture war escalation. And it was luckily passed in time so the Republicans headed to Wichita for their winter convention could tout another victory against their favorite punching bag.
I have written this column over and over and over again. I have written some version of it every legislative session since 2022. I am writing it again this year. I will write it again next year if such legislation continues to come up.
At first, lawmakers actually held comprehensive hearings about their abusive bills. I wrote about some of those hearings, and while advocates didn’t always notch victories, they succeeded in making legislators squirm. They forced the men and women serving Kansans to looks trans folks in the face and defend their actions.
This time, Republican leaders didn’t want to mess around with feeling bad. They wanted to revel in the thrill of passing a law that hurt their imagined enemies.
They first twisted the process by adding the bathroom bill provision to an existing anti-trans piece of legislation about driver’s licenses. That was on Monday, and the amendment was ruled germane over Democratic objections.
The committee then took the amended bill and jammed it inside another bill that had already passed the Senate. This is called a “gut and go,” and it meant that the Senate wouldn’t have to hold hearings on the legislation. Members just needed to vote yes or no. That already-passed bill has nothing to do with the revised one. That’s just how things work in Topeka.
Finally, the bill sped through the House and Senate on an expedited basis. Normally, legislation has a first vote and then a second one the day after. The House and Senate both took what they call “emergency action” to pass SB 244 during the same evening.
Those are at least three distortions of legislative norms. If leaders had followed their own rules, the process might have taken a week or two. Public outcry and demonstrations at the Statehouse would have followed. Rank-and-file lawmakers would have faces pressure to defend their actions or rethink their positions.
Instead, they jammed through the bill and carried on their merry way. The lone Republican to vote no, in either chamber, was Rep. Mark Schreiber of Emporia.
“Procedurally, it is the absolute worst bill I have ever heard in the Kansas Legislature,” said Rep. Dan Osman, D-Overland Park, on Wednesday. I’ve heard the same from other legislators and advocates.
Laws that could inflict harm or restrict the rights of Kansans deserve scrutiny, not just from journalists but from informed constituents. They deserve open debate and a deliberative process within the halls of power. They deserve sunlight.
Sure, harmful legislation might pass.
But the public would know how and why. And transgender Kansans would receive the modicum of respect they’re due.
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.