Tag Archives: Kansas

The Wichita Eagle reports: A bill that ensures faith-based adoption agencies can turn away gay and lesbian couples based on religious beliefs will be signed into law by Gov. Jeff Colyer. Kansas lawmakers passed the legislation after an intense debate early Friday. One suggested the need for the legislation proves the existence of the “homosexual agenda” while another said the …

The Topeka Capitol-Journal reports: U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson has found Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in contempt for failing to comply with her orders in a lawsuit over the state’s voter registration law. Robinson didn’t impose a fine but ordered Kobach to pay for damages caused by his failure to comply, including attorney fees. Robinson in 2016 …

The Wichita Eagle reports: A Kansas bill that would pressure schools to allow teachers to carry guns would make it a crime to reveal who’s authorized to be armed in the classroom. That’s a little-noticed provision in House Bill 2789, the Staff As First Emergency Responder (or SAFER) Act, which was debated at a heavily attended House committee hearing at …

The Kansas City Star reports: A Leavenworth Republican looking to replace U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins in Kansas’ second congressional district is giving away an AR-15 rifle for his campaign — and he has no plans to stop it despite social media pushback in light of Wednesday’s Florida mass school shooting. Tyler Tannahill, a Marine veteran, on Tuesday posted on his …

The Associated Press reports: A female congressional candidate dropped out of the Kansas race Friday over a 12-year-old lawsuit accusing her of sexually harassing a male subordinate, an unusual case of a woman facing the sort of misconduct allegations that have forced numerous men out of their jobs in recent weeks. Andrea Ramsey announced in a Facebook post that she …

The Kansas City Star reports: Three men accused of plotting to bomb a western Kansas mosque say their rights are being violated by the exclusion of jurors from more politically conservative areas. Attorneys for the three men say in documents filed in federal court in Wichita that the jury selection procedure is discriminatory and “excludes rural and conservative jurors.” When …

The Kansas City Star reports: President Donald Trump has appointed Gov. Sam Brownback to an ambassadorship, a little more than a month after the Kansas governor saw his signature tax policy dismantled by the state’s Legislature. Trump announced Brownback’s appointment as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Wednesday evening. Brownback had long been expected to be named to the post. “Religious …

Here’s what really happened in Kansas yesterday: Republican Ron Estes will be the next congressman from the state of Kansas, but his victory Tuesday night did not come as easily as many expected in the deep-red state. GOP strategists warned in recent days that Democrat James Thompson, a civil rights attorney, was in striking distance against Estes, Kansas state treasurer …

The Kansas City Star reports: The House has advanced a resolution condemning pornography – warning that it treats women as objects, lowers the desire to marry and can lead to erectile dysfunction. The chamber advanced the resolution Wednesday on a voice vote. The yes votes were much louder than the no votes. It has no binding legal effect. The resolution …

Curiously, Donald Trump did not mention this attack during his CPAC speech this morning. The Washington Post reports: A 51-year-old man faces first-degree murder charges after shooting three men in an Olathe, Kan., bar Wednesday night, police say, reportedly telling two of them, local Garmin engineers from India, to “get out of my country.” One of the Indian men, Srinivas …

The Kansas City Star reports: The investigation into a Kansas terror plot targeting Muslims has allegedly uncovered an extensive collection of child pornography, according to federal authorities. The pornographic images were found on computer equipment seized from the Kansas home of one of the three men charged with plotting to bomb a Garden City, Kan., apartment complex and mosque, according …

NBC News reports: The Equality House in Topeka, Kansas, which stands directly across the street from the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, has been a symbol of the LGBTQ rights movement since it was first painted Pride flag colors in March of 2013. This week, however, the colorful symbol of equality was subjected to hate when spray-painted slurs and bullet …

The Huffington Post recaps: Bill Maher ripped into the GOP’s policy of cutting taxes for the rich on Friday night. The “Real Time with Bill Maher“ host said the state of California was proof that doing the reverse, and instead raising taxes on the most wealthy, could actually lead to a booming economy. The comedian gloated about how The Golden …

From Wichita’s ABC affiliate: Wichita police released surveillance video Wednesday of a reported attack on two Wichita State students at a Kwik Shop convenience store near the WSU campus. Khondoker Usama, an alleged victim, stands by his story that a hate crime was committed against him and a friend after seeing the video. “It strengthens my side of the narrative,” …

Super Saturday’s projected winners are rolling in. Taking the Democratic caucus in Kansas is Bernie Sanders. And Ted Cruz picked up two more wins today, taking the GOP caucuses in Maine and Kansas. The remaining Super Saturday states should have their results within the hour.

The GOP holds caucuses today in Kansas, Kentucky, and Maine. Democrats hold their caucuses in Nebraska and Kansas. Both parties have their primaries in Louisiana. If you are voting or caucusing today, weigh in below and share your experience.

Via the Wichita Eagle: The same-sex spouses of state employees are now eligible for the state’s health insurance plan, according to a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. A same-sex spouse of a state worker or public university employee can now apply to be added to their spouse’s plan through the agency or school’s human resources department. …

Late yesterday Wikipedia briefly turned Kansas sapphire after Equality Kansas and others reported that state agencies had finally begun recognizing same-sex marriages. Those reports were hotly denied by the Brownback administration and Wikipedia quickly reverted Kansas to its lone holdout purple status. This morning Equality Kansas is asking for help: We have statements from LGBT Kansans that they have either …

Not so fast, says the Topeka Citizen-Journal: Married same-sex spouses will be able to join the state’s employee health plan, an Emporia State University spokeswoman said Monday – though the state agency overseeing the plan denies that they are now eligible. Gwen Larson, Emporia State University spokeswoman, said the university had received notification earlier in the day that same-sex spouses …

It’s almost one full week after Obergefell and Kansas remains the lone purple holdout in Wikipedia’s otherwise all–sapphire marriage map. Here’s why, via the Kansas City Star: Republican Gov. Sam Brownback said Thursday that he’s considering proposing a new religious objections law for Kansas following the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of gay marriage, and he defended his administration’s cautious response …