03/02/2026
STATEMENT FROM THE BOARD OF HAYS PRIDE ON SB 244
The Board of Directors of Hays Pride strongly condemns the passage of House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 (SB 244) and urges Kansas citizens to work together to repeal this unjust and discriminatory ordinance.
SB 244, passed into law without a public hearing and over Governor Kelly’s veto on February 18, 2026, requires that individuals use only those gender-separated public facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms, that correspond to their s*x assigned at birth, and it immediately invalidates any Kansas driver’s license or birth certificate that has been amended to reflect the holder’s gender identity.
SB 244 places transgender, inters*x, and gender-variant Kansans at significant risk each time that they need to use a gender-separated restroom or other public facility, which is often the only facility available. Using the restroom or other facility that corresponds to their gender identity will subject them to legal penalties, while using a facility that corresponds to their s*x assigned birth will expose them to harassment and the very real threat of physical violence.
SB 244 places another significant burden on transgender, inters*x, and gender-variant Kansans by depriving them, abruptly and without any grace period, of legal identification and of any and all legal rights and public services, including voting, driving, and a wide range of routine commercial transactions, that are contingent upon the ability to present legal identification.
The inability safely to use public facilities or to engage in essential daily activities that require legal identification will directly and significantly undermine the health, safety, and social and economic well-being of transgender, inters*x, and gender-variant Kansans, who have committed their lives and their livelihoods to our state and who make valuable contributions to our economic growth and stability in multiple areas, often in vital and underserved sectors such as teaching, special education, nonprofit and arts leadership, and social services.
Kansas is already rated as one of the least hospitable states for transgender, inters*x, and gender-variant people. SB 244, by imposing penalties on routine and essential daily activities and by fostering unwarranted surveillance and invasions of privacy, will encourage transgender, inters*x, and gender-variant Kansans to consider moving elsewhere while further undermining the already compromised quality of life of those who choose or have no choice but to remain.
The Kansas Constitution reminds us that our state government has been established “to insure the full enjoyment of our rights as American citizens” (Preamble), and it affirms that all Kansans are “possessed of equal and inalienable natural rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Bill of Rights, Section I).
Hays Pride calls on our civic leaders and on all Kansans to take the words of our constitution to heart and to join in building a future in which all Kansans may enjoy and exercise their basic, equal, and inalienable rights.
