Kansas Republicans delivered a decisive victory for women’s privacy and biological truth on February 18, 2026, when the House joined the Senate in overriding Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Substitute for Senate Bill 244.
The Republican-led Senate overrode Kelly’s veto with a 31-9 vote, and the House followed with an 87-37 tally, easily surpassing the two-thirds margin needed to send the bill straight into law.
The move came just days after Gov. Kelly vetoed the bill on February 13, 2026, calling the legislation “poorly drafted” and warning it would have “numerous and significant consequences.”
Republicans, however, had the votes and they used them.
Under the new statute:
- Restroom use in state government buildings, schools, and universities is restricted to the sex assigned at birth. Transgender Kansans who identify differently but who have not had surgery or whose IDs do not match their gender identity will be barred from using opposite-sex facilities.
- Government agencies will designate multi-occupancy restrooms as either male or female — eliminating “gender-neutral” bathrooms in state buildings.
- Driver’s licenses and birth certificates must reflect biological sex at birth, not self-declared gender identity — reversing any existing changes for residents.
- Penalties for violations include warnings for a first infraction, $1,000 fines for second violations and misdemeanor charges for repeated infractions.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita) defended the override, emphasizing that clarity and reality should triumph over ideology, and that women’s privacy and safety in restrooms and locker rooms matters above all.
Sen. Kellie Warren (R-Leawood) hammered the point during debate, questioning why a man should ever be legally permitted into a women’s restroom.
Opposition was swift and forceful.
Civil liberties organizations, including the ACLU of Kansas, called the law intrusive and discriminatory, accusing lawmakers of gender policing and forcing Kansans into the wrong bathrooms.
“This bill is about forcing people into the wrong bathrooms and opening up all Kansans to scrutiny and gender policing by strangers,” said Logan DeMond, ACLU of Kansas Policy Director.
Hellbound and Down 