Sunflower State News

The Kansas legislature today overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D-Kan.) veto to pass SB 180, a bill which “establishes the Women’s Bill of Rights and provides a definition of biological sex.”

“With passage of this law, the Kansas legislature has chosen science over ideology, defended Kansas values from extremism, and celebrated real women and girls instead of those who claim to be,” former Congressman Tim Huelskamp, PhD, (R-Kan.), told Sunflower State News.

Huelskamp also represented the 38th district of the Kansas Senate from 1997 until 2011.

The text of the bill said that, “An individual’s ‘sex means an individual’s sex at birth, either male or female. A ‘female’ means an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.” 

“A ‘male’ means an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female,” said the bill.

Kelly vetoed the bill on April 24, 2023. The Kansas Senate then voted 28-12 to override the veto, followed by a 84-40 House vote earlier today.

Democrat State Rep. Marvin Robinson was the lone House Democrat vote to override the veto.

“Kansas is officially the first state to pass a bill defining the word ‘woman’!!” tweeted former All-America collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines. “This would not have passed the veto override without the help of the sole democrat, Rep. Robinson, who voted in favor of Women's Bill of Rights.”

Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, tied with University of Pennsylvania male swimmer Will “Lia” Thomas in the 200-meter freestyle event at the 2022 NCAA championships.

This was following Thomas’ win in the women’s 500-yard freestyle.

Gaines tweeted, “Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title,” Gaines tweeted. “He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman. The @ncaa is responsible.”

Since that time, Gaines has become a speaker and advocate for prohibiting boys from participating in girls’ school sports.

On April 6, Gaines tweeted a video in which she was “ambushed and physically hit twice by a man” following a speech at San Francisco State University. 

Gaines tweeted of the Kansas bill, "This bill doesn't create any new laws or prohibit laws from being made. It simply codifies the term 'woman' to apply to all legislature that uses that word. It brings clarity/uniformity to Kansas law."