Could a Kansas bill censor non-explicit, LGBTQ+ content? Lawyers, lawmakers disagree

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican, said it was ridiculous that certain groups were focusing on one word in a bill that guarantees to have a measurable, positive impact on young people in the state.

“We’re talking about what a reasonable person would consider harmful to minors,” Humphries said. “Every kind of sexual conduct is listed in statute – whether that be sexual conduct between a husband and wife, monogamous, heterosexuality, homosexuality – all of those things are listed. It doesn’t target any particular kind of sexual behavior.”

Will Kansas change outdated statutes?

Kansas often retains outdated and unconstitutional statutes that do not align with federal law and Supreme Court rulings.

Under the state constitution, same-sex marriage is still illegal. A gay person could still be charged with criminal sodomy for engaging in consensual sexual relations, and state-level nondiscrimination statutes do not classify sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes.

For years, Kansas Democrats have tried and failed to modernize these state statutes. But legislators hope the confusion around the outdated homosexuality statute and the upcoming election will add urgency to the cause.

Last month, Rep. Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat who is gay, tried to force lawmakers to debate a bill that would have repealed a provision in the state constitution that prohibits same-sex marriage. But the motion, which would have allowed the body to debate the measure, failed 43-61.

And after some Supreme Court Justices indicated they want to review Obergefell v. Hodges – or the case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide – Woodard said it’s now critical to update these state statutes if the law was overturned.

Woodard said that effort has bipartisan support, and the bills would likely pass if legislative leadership would allow for a floor vote.

“We have Republicans that are willing to clean up these state statutes and repeal these unconstitutional laws like the marriage ban,” he said. “The votes are there to repeal these outdated statutes. It’s just going to take legislative leadership who is willing to do that.”

This isn’t the first time old statues have caused uncertainty in LGBTQ+ spaces, Hiegert said. He hopes the pushback from this bill will be a wake-up call for legislators to modernize laws.

“I hope that this type of consistent confusion and the fear that pops up in the community would be enough to kind of shake some legislators awake to think more critically about making these changes,” Hiegert said. “But I guess we’ll have to see what comes with the next session.”

Probst said he has already been in conversation with other legislators about updating state statutes, and some are open to the idea. Modernizing them would be central to eliminating gray areas in instances similar to the outdated “harmful to minors’‘ statute, he said.

“These statutes are unconstitutional,” he said. “They’ve been invalidated by court rulings. But it does no harm to go in and codify to make those statutes clearer. There are specific sections, certainly applicable in the age-verification bill circumstance, where it would have been worthwhile to get that language out of (the) statute.”