Republicans in the Kansas Legislature are a single vote from forcing restrictions on bathroom use by transgender people into state law.
The Senate voted Tuesday to override the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. If House lawmakers vote to do the same, which could happen as soon as Wednesday, the restrictions will become law. The bill previously passed the House with enough votes for an override.
The bill would require government buildings, including public schools and universities, to “take every reasonable step” to segregate restrooms and locker rooms by sex.
Individuals could be fined or sued for $1,000 and criminally charged for repeatedly being accused of using facilities that don’t match the sex they were assigned at birth.
The issue has ignited passions on both sides. After the vote to override in the Senate, critical comments from the gallery caused the briefly break while staff restored order.
During the Senate debate, supporters of the bill, like Republican Sen. Kellie Warren, said the change focuses on the expectation of privacy in intimate spaces.
“School children, who are they going to encounter in the bathrooms at school?” Warren asked.
Critics of the bill said it was not an issue that lawmakers should weigh in on.
Democratic Sen. Cindy Holscher pushed back on the idea that the change would increase safety in restrooms.
“What I hear as a response are a lot of words but not actually any numbers,” Holscher said.
“Maybe this is a culture war bill,” she added.
Several legislators argued controversial laws like this one make it harder to attract businesses and economic development to the state.
They pointed to the upcoming World Cup, which will feature major teams based in the Kansas City area. Democratic Sen. Pat Pettey touted the Argentina national team activities around her district in Kansas City, Kansas.
She said the transgender restrictions risk driving away teams and the economic development they’ll bring with them.
“Kansas stands at a pivotal moment,” Pettey said. “Kansas could possibly host more teams than any other state.”
Warren rejected those arguments.
“It’s not about economic impact,” Warren said. “Yes, we need to address this.”
Anthony Alvarez, with the advocacy group Loud Light, said the restrictions target transgender people like him and will affect more than bathrooms. He said the bill is so broad it could apply to places such as dorm rooms and hospital rooms.
He said the bill fuels harassment.
“Feeding into hateful stereotypes that lead to real violence,” Alvarez said.
Twenty states have passed laws that prohibit individuals from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity in certain public spaces.
The Kansas bill includes some exceptions. Children would be allowed in opposite-sex restrooms up to the age of eight, as long as a caregiver is with them. Coaches would be allowed in opposite-sex locker rooms as long as everyone is clothed.
Another part of the bill enacts a longstanding goal of Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach: banning Kansans from changing the gender marker on their state-issued driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
“It’s going to be your sex at birth,” Warren said. “That’s what we recognize in this state.”
Stephen Koranda is the managing editor for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at stephenkoranda (at) kcur (dot) org.
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