Historic Victory! Kansas Becomes First State to Enact WoLF’s Women’s Bill of Rights
Kansas lawmakers overturned Governor Kelly’s veto with bipartisan support
Kansas became the first state in the nation on Thursday to enact into law Senate Bill 180, also known as the Women’s Bill of Rights, a groundbreaking bill to protect women and girls based on model legislation crafted by WoLF and Independent Women’s Voices (IWV).
Read a Summary of SB180
The bill defines sex in state laws based on biology, codifies “intermediate scrutiny” to ensure that women are treated fairly by courts interpreting sex discrimination laws, and protects the ability to collect data on sex. In February, WoLF legal counsel Lauren Bone testified in support of the bill, stating, “recognition of sex is foundational to ensuring equal access to public life.”
Nearly 600 messages sent from WoLF supporters successfully helped the Kansas legislators overturn Governor Kelly’s veto! They took action by writing letters, calling key representatives, and kept the pressure on to make sure this bill would be enacted into law. WoLF also sent letters to key lawmakers with deciding swing votes — including Representative Borjon, who changed his vote to voting in favor of the override!
The bill passed with bipartisan support in the House during both the initial vote on the bill as well as in overriding Governor Kelly’s veto.
Earlier this month, the Kansas state legislature also overrode Governor Kelly’s veto of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, successfully demonstrating the power of grassroots action to ensure lawmakers follow the will of their constituents to protect single-sex spaces in the face of executive and bureaucratic overreach.
Today’s win is a historic victory for women and girls in Kansas and across the nation! Multiple other states are currently considering the Women’s Bill of Rights, with some potentially slated to follow Kansas’ lead in the following months.
About The Women’s Bill of Rights
The Women’s Bill of Rights was drafted as model legislation by WoLF and IWV in 2022, and has since been introduced at the federal and state levels across the country. This bill takes procedural steps to write into law common sense definitions that ensure the meaning of words like “woman” and “mother” aren’t corrupted by unelected bureaucrats intent on pushing gender ideology.
The Women’s Bill of Rights
Defines “sex” based on biology (either male or female), enshrines into law common definitions of “woman,” “girl,” and “mother”
Codifies the intermediate scrutiny standard of judicial review to allow the law to recognize sex when it is relevant (ex., shelters, locker rooms, and prisons)
Requires vital statistic collection for anti-discrimination, or public health and safety to accurately record and report on biological sex
We are proud to have helped create this groundbreaking legislation, and grateful to all our supporters who helped make it happen!
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