The governor of Kansas vetoed an anti-LGBTQ+ bill while simultaneously letting a law pass requiring ID to view "acts of homosexuality."
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly issued vetoes Friday against a ban on gender-affirming care for minors as well as two anti-abortion measures. She also let pass without her signature a law requiring age-verification to view content "harmful to minors."
Under Kansas criminal law, material "harmful to minors" includes nudity and "sexual content," which is defined in part as "acts of masturbation, homosexuality, or sexual intercourse."
The law, which will go into effect on July 1, requires users to share their government-issued identification in order to view adult content. Websites can be fined up to $10,000 for each instance a minor accesses their content, and parents are allowed to sue for damages of at least $50,000.
This could theoretically apply to family-friendly media with queer characters, LGBTQ+ charities and community resources, or even medical websites that include information on gender and sexuality. Such websites could soon be forced to block access to young users — cutting off their access to vital resources and information — or face hefty fines.
Kelly did not comment on the age-verification bill, but gave justification for each of her vetoes. She said that a ban on gender-affirming care for minors “tramples parental rights” and targets “a small group.” She vetoed a similar bill last year, and the legislature did not have the votes to override it.
“If the Legislature paid this much attention to the other 99.8% of students, we’d have the best schools on earth,” she wrote.
Lawmakers were able to override Kelly's veto on an anti-transgender school sports bill last year. Her veto of a bill ending the state’s legal recognition of changes in gender identity was also overridden, meaning that transgender people can no longer change their sex on their driver’s licenses or birth certificates in the state.
The minority leader of the Kansas Senate, Democrat Dinah Sykes of Topeka, told The Advocate earlier this month that she's concerned Republicans will have the votes to override Kelly's vetoes this time around. She said that the laws are "just filled with hate and really just an ignorance toward what this community goes through."
“It makes these children feel so different and feel like outcasts, and that’s just so cruel," Sykes said. “I worry that these kids and their parents won’t feel safe in Kansas and that they will move to other states, and it's a loss for our state. Unfortunately, we're going to lose some wonderful Kansans because of this bill.”
