Kansas

Kansas lawmakers want to ban gender-affirming care for minors

Published

1 year ago

December 30, 2024

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Kansas lawmakers want to ban gender-affirming care for minors

Takeaways

Kansas Republicans want to ban puberty blockers and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender minors
Past proposals have failed, but Kansas Republicans now have a stronger supermajority.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins said therapy and counseling are not the target of any ban.

Kansas Republicans plan to try to ban gender-affirming care for minors again.

That means cutting off access to puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children with gender dysphoria, and banning gender-affirming surgery for minors, which is incredibly rare.

The GOP has tried and failed to pass this ban. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly consistently vetoes the proposals, and conservatives can’t rally enough support to override the veto. The 2024 election changed the political makeup of the Legislature, though, and conservatives are going to try again.

“We only missed that by one or two votes in the House, right?” Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said to reporters. “(The Senate) overrode it then and I think this caucus is probably stronger in that opinion than the prior one. So that would definitely be back.”

What has the Legislature already done?

A bill banning gender-affirming care for minors failed in 2023 and 2024. The bill could have cost doctors licenses for providing the care. It would also give families a path to sue for actual damages to a child and punitive damages.

The 2024 proposal failed when four Republicans crossed party lines and joined Democrats to kill the bill. But the political makeup of the Legislature has tilted further right.

The 2025 proposal will look similar to last year’s plan, said House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican. He said last year’s bill scared some lawmakers because they worried it would ban mental health care and counseling for transgender minors. That’s not the goal.

Hawkins said he wants to stop puberty blockers and surgeries. He said this bill should move quickly.

“I don’t think we’re going to wait till the end (of the session),” he said. “We’re going to get a lot of this stuff done early.”

The GOP has a larger majority and more margin for error. Two of the four Republicans who joined Democrats in 2024 didn’t run for reelection, and one of the newly elected lawmakers said they don’t support gender-affirming care.

Former Rep. Marvin Robinson, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, switched party lines to support the ban. He lost his primary election.

Who supports the proposal?

The proposal is almost entirely supported by Republicans and splits largely along party lines.

Sen. Beverly Gossage, a Eudora Republican, said the bill would protect children because it prevents them from making life-altering decisions they may regret. Studies have found 1% of transgender individuals regret the choice.

Republicans also say Kansans could get the care at 18 when they are an adult, though doctors warn against waiting for gender-affirming care.

“We want these children to get the caring mental therapy that they need,” Gossage said during the 2024 debate. “We often pass bills in this Legislature to protect Kansans. We’re on the right side of history on this.”

Who opposes the proposal?

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said supportive environments and proper medical treatment are the best ways to help transgender Kansans.

“I have heard from hundreds of Kansans and people who had a life raft because of gender-affirming care,” Sykes said during the 2024 debate. “We are trying to rip that away from them.”

Democrats say delaying care increases the suicide risk for transgender teens. Kelly has a track record of vetoing anti-transgender legislation, and any bill banning this care is almost certainly to be vetoed by the Democratic governor.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

7 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

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Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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Kansas

Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.

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