Latest news with #KansasReflector
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas appeals court ruling restores ability to change gender markers on driver's licenses
Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Karen Arnold-Burger questions an attorney during a Jan. 27, 2025, hearing in a dispute over whether Kansans can change their gender markers on driver's licenses. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — A three-judge appeals court panel on Friday cleared the way for Kansans to resume changing their gender markers on driver's licenses, rejecting arguments made by Attorney General Kris Kobach and overturning a lower court ruling. The Kansas Court of Appeals panel ordered the case return to the district court level to be heard by someone other than Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson, who abused her discretion and committed legal and factual errors, according to the Friday ruling. Judges Karen Arnold-Burger, Stephen Hill and Sarah Warner determined the state would suffer no harm by allowing transgender residents to be identified by their 'gender,' which is a personal identity or expression, rather than their 'sex,' which relates to reproductive systems. Kobach's office had argued that the two terms are interchangeable. The Legislature passed a law in 2023 that requires vital statistics to recognize a person's biological sex at birth. Kobach sued the Kansas Department of Revenue for continuing to allow transgender residents to change the gender markers on their driver's license, as the office had done since at least 2007. From 2011 to 2022, KDOR issued 9,316,937 driver's licenses. During that period, 380 drivers changed their gender marker. Watson in 2023 issued a temporary injunction to block changes in gender markers on driver's licenses. The appeals court, which heard arguments in January, removed that injunction and replaced it with an order to allow changes. Watson, the higher court said, had committed a legal error by concluding, without any support, that Kobach's mere allegation that KDOR was violating state law had established irreparable harm. Additionally, the higher court faulted Watson's conclusion that changing a gender marker could hinder law enforcement officers. 'The problem with the district court's finding is that the AG presented no evidence to support this claimed injury beyond unsubstantiated speculation,' Arnold-Burger wrote on behalf of the appeals court panel. In fact, she wrote, 'the evidence was overwhelming that there was no harm.' At the district court level, Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill testified that one time, he didn't say when, he arrested a transgender woman who told him that she was a man. One of the problems with that example, Arnold-Burger wrote, is that he relied on the individual's 'outward appearance,' not their driver's license. And, she wrote, the same mistake could be made for any cisgender woman who appears less feminine and more masculine than the average woman. Additionally, the sheriff's gender confusion didn't prevent the arrest or immediate discovery of the person's identity. And, Hill acknowledged that law enforcement officers can't always rely on a driver's license anyway because people change their names. 'The district court committed an error of fact by concluding that there was evidence — any evidence beyond mere speculation — to support a finding that law enforcement would be immediately hindered in the identification of suspects, victims, wanted persons, missing persons, detainees, and others if the driver's license did not display the driver's sex assigned at birth,' Arnold-Burger wrote. The appeals court ruling also noted that the Kansas Supreme Court has recognized a distinction between 'sex' and 'gender' since at least 2002. And it determined that Kobach was unlikely to prevail in the case. The appeals court panel ordered the case return to the district court level for a hearing before a new judge. 'Because of the district court's abuse of discretion, the KDOR has been unable to issue reclassifications of gender designations on Kansas driver's licenses for two years while this litigation languished,' Arnold-Burger wrote.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moran asks federal officials to keep airspace restrictions at D.C. airport in place
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran demanded commitments from federal officials during hearings Thursday to keep airspace safe at Reagan Washington National Airport, the site of a deadly collision in January. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran pressed federal officials Wednesday on how they intend to ensure safety at the Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., in the wake of a January crash between a passenger plane from Wichita and an Army helicopter that left no survivors. Moran, a Kansas Republican, questioned U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Federal Aviation Administration administrator nominee Bryan Bedford at separate committee hearings Wednesday on whether they would commit to keeping in place restrictions on non-essential helicopter flights around the D.C. airport. 'It's my understanding, from information from the Army, that since Jan. 29, seven flights have taken off and landed at the Pentagon,' Moran said to Hegseth. 'Six of those flights occurred during periods of high volume at DCA. One of those aircraft caused two different commercial flights to abort landing on May 1, and since this latest incident, I understand that all flights have been halted.' Since the January crash, Moran has pushed for aviation reforms, introducing legislation that mandates in busy airspace the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast, or ADS-B, which automatically transmits an aircraft's location to nearby pilots once per second. The legislation also removes the possibility for pilots to opt out of using ADS-B. Moran introduced that legislation after close calls at the same airport where the crash took place. The Pentagon, which is less than two miles away from Reagan National as the crow flies, halted military helicopter flights near the airport. The legislation has been in a committee awaiting action since it was introduced in early May. Moran wants the flight restrictions in place until the FAA can come up with a safe route, if there is one. Hegseth, in response, said no authorization for VIP or convenience flights exists in that area. 'You have our assurance that I'm working with (Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy) very closely to make sure that the only flights that would be — even in a modified path — would be those that are necessary and are authorized,' Hegseth said. Moran sits on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, where he questioned Hegseth, and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where he requested a commitment from Bedford to maintain safety restrictions. 'My understanding is the FAA is supreme when it comes to the control of the airspace,' Bedford said. 'But we want to be good partners with the Department of Defense, and we have protocols on how to do that — multiple protocols, as I understand.' The FAA creates military operating areas, which include restricted and prohibited spaces, and line of fire space and alert zones, and determines the airspace classifications around airports. The busiest airports, like Reagan, are Class B airspace. Bedford said the FAA can accommodate the U.S. Department of Defense's needs, but he added, 'we can't have this mixed-use traffic in Class B airspace.'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas Republican exploits fear of imaginary ‘axis of ballot harvesting' to gain political advantage
Kansas Rep. Pat Proctor, a Republican from Leavenworth, speaks to House members during an April 10, 2025, debate. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — As Kansas Rep. Pat Proctor launched his campaign to oversee state elections, he honed in on a signature phrase that would serve his interest of dismissing critics — and reporting by Kansas Reflector — while appealing to far-right voters. His ambiguous 'axis of ballot harvesting' serves as a catchall for anyone who challenges his false claims about the hazards of early voting, and signals a vast make-believe conspiracy by foreign nationals to undermine elections. Proctor frequently repeats the phrase on the campaign trail, and used it in a fundraising message where he suggested a new law could be used to bring criminal or civil charges against Kansas Reflector. When video surfaced in April of Proctor asserting that women stole the 2022 election on abortion, he falsely claimed the video had been doctored by voting rights advocates at the core of the so-called 'axis.' And when three nonprofits filed a lawsuit in early May to challenge new restrictions on early voting, Proctor exclaimed on social media: 'The axis of ballot harvesting strikes again!' The Leavenworth Republican declined to answer questions from Kansas Reflector seeking clarity about his contradictory comments and a definition of 'the axis of ballot harvesting,' echoing President George W. Bush's use of 'axis of evil' to describe nations propping up terrorism in the early 2000s. Proctor, a retired Army colonel serving his third, two-year term in the state House, also declined to identify an example of anything Kansas Reflector has published that is inaccurate. Instead, Proctor responded with the following statement: 'Here's a quote for you: 'You are a partisan hack and your so-called 'newspaper' is a woke, leftist propaganda rag.' Thanks for the opportunity to comment.' The response is consistent with Proctor's frequent criticism — including personal attacks on social media — of journalists who accurately report on him. So far, Proctor is the only Republican to file for secretary of state in next year's election cycle. The job involves overseeing voter registration in Kansas and guiding county-level administrators on election policy. Republican Rep. Ken Rahjes, of Agra, plans to join the race. In an interview, Rahjes didn't criticize Proctor. Rahjes said he is focused on 'making sure our elections are safe, secure, and that Kansans have confidence that their vote is counted.' 'If you look at the outcomes of the last three presidential elections in Kansas, Donald Trump has won all three,' Rahjes said. 'It looks like those elections have turned out the way that the people in Kansas have wanted.' In contrast, Proctor calls for restrictions on early voting — even though he acknowledges that he personally enjoys the convenience of voting early. And after launching his campaign for secretary of state in early April, Proctor has criticized voting rights groups — Loud Light, Kansas Appleseed, League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas — who challenge his proposals in legislative hearings and in court. Loud Light circulated on social media a video clip of Proctor speaking at a June 20, 2024, forum on elections that was published on Rumble, the far-right alternative to YouTube. During the forum, Proctor recalled the fierce campaign ahead of Kansas' August 2022 vote on abortion rights. Kansans overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment to strip those rights, and post-election audits and recounts affirmed the integrity of the election. Illegal voting is exceedingly rare in Kansas, as a federal judge ruled in 2018, as it is in the rest of the U.S. But Proctor said he was going around to polling places in advance of the August 2022 election, 'and there's, like, all these, like, women, like 20- to 30-year-old women who, you know, that you never saw at the polls before, and it's like a long line, got a long line, and they're all there to vote, and it's just the — it's they're stealing it fair and square.' The Loud Light clip was unaltered, but when Proctor was asked during an April 19 town hall in Leavenworth to explain his comments, he replied: 'That'd be really terrible if I'd actually said that.' 'They chopped up a video to make it look like I said that 20- and 30-year-old women were stealing the election by voting, or something like that,' Proctor said. Melissa Stiehler, advocacy director for Loud Light, said in an interview that she was bothered by Proctor's willingness to 'drift further away from the truth' and 'really embrace things that he knows to be lies.' 'We've had these conversations behind closed doors in the past. He knows that these things aren't true, and yet he's embracing this culture of conspiracy theories for his own political gain, which is desperate and shameless,' Stiehler said. In an April 12 fundraising email, Proctor warned of 'a shadowy collection of groups I call the 'axis of ballot harvesting.'' His targets included Loud Light and States Newsroom, the parent organization of Kansas Reflector. Proctor's email said Kansas Reflector 'is part of a vast, dark money, left-wing propaganda machine called States Newsroom.' He said 'a significant percentage of that organization's funding' comes from foreign sources, including the Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss. States Newsroom follows all laws regarding nonprofits and does not accept donations from foreign-based entities. The U.S.-based Wyss Foundation's $1.14 million grant to States Newsroom in 2020 has never been a secret. On its website, States Newsroom publishes an extensive list of donors who have contributed more than $1,000, as well as its 990 tax forms. The organization's annual fundraising exceeds $20 million to support nonprofit news operations, including Kansas Reflector, in 39 states. 'As Chair of the House Committee on Elections, in response to this threat, I introduced House Bill 2106 to begin the process of getting foreign money completely out of Kansas politics,' Proctor wrote. 'This first-step bill requires organizations campaigning for or against constitutional amendments to ensure and certify that they have not accepted foreign money over the preceding four years or face serious civil and criminal consequences.' He then said the law would prevent 'foreign nationals like Hansjörg Wyss from improperly influencing Kansas elections.' HB 2106 requires any entity 'who engages in any activity promoting or opposing' a proposed constitutional amendment to certify that each donor is not a 'foreign national,' and that each donor has not received more than $100,000 from any foreign national within a four-year period. Kansas Reflector reports on the stakes of policies and elections but doesn't advocate for or against ballot questions or candidates. Proctor offered a different interpretation of the law during a Feb. 4 hearing in his committee, where Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose appeared via video to complain about States Newsroom. 'We are not about to legislate who can spend money doing news in the state of Kansas, OK. We're not going to touch that with a 10-foot pole,' Proctor said at the time. The Legislature adopted the bill with veto-proof bipartisan support — 94-25 in the House and 39-0 in the Senate — in advance of next year's vote on a constitutional amendment that would replace the current nominating system for Kansas Supreme Court justices with statewide elections for judicial candidates. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly allowed HB 2106 to become law without her signature. An abortion-rights advocacy group has filed a federal lawsuit to try to block the law from taking effect. Stiehler said Proctor's language in the fundraising email was 'really teetering on the line of at least some dog whistle language of antisemitic, globalist conspiracy theories.' 'This is a lot of hullabaloo,' she said. 'He's making up a fake problem and making up a fake enemy to try and create and drive the fear, to prove that only he is the one to fix it. And it's all based on lies and nonsense.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Take it from this retired Kansas judge: An independent bench reinforces justice
A statue representing justice stands at the Kansas Judicial Center, where the Kansas Supreme Court is located, on Feb. 4, 2022. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) This session, the Kansas Legislature voted to send Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611 to voters. This proposed constitutional amendment creates the direct partisan political election of Kansas Supreme Court justices. Such elections would be the death knell of an independent judiciary. I was fortunate to serve as a trial district court judge for two and a half decades. I was faced with making difficult decisions, but also very unpopular ones. The majority of the Legislature sadly confuses the court of law with the court of public opinion. Partisan election of judges conflicts with the very essence of the role of the judiciary. A judge has no constituency. A judge must not be influenced by popular opinion. A judge must not be beholden to a political party or a financial campaign contributor. Surely we can all agree we want our judiciary to be fair, impartial and insulated from outside influence. This distinction of judicial office from legislative and executive positions is recognized by the Kansas Code of Judicial Conduct, canon 4. It addresses political activity by a judicial candidate that is inconsistent with the independence, integrity or impartiality of the judiciary. Rule 4.1 (A)(6) states '(A) judge or judicial candidate shall not, in connection with cases, controversies or issues that are likely to come before the court make pledges, promises, or commitments that are inconsistent with the impartial performance of the adjudicative duties of the court.' A judge has no constituency. A judge must not be influenced by popular opinion. A judge must not be beholden to a political party or a financial campaign contributor. – Steven Becker This means no pledges, promises or commitments on gun control, abortion, Medicaid expansion or legalization of cannabis. The Kansas Code of Judicial Conduct explains further the importance of keeping our judiciary above the fray of political campaigns and rhetoric. 'A judge plays a role different from that of a legislator or executive branch official. Rather than making decisions based upon the expressed views or preferences of the electorate, a judge makes decisions based upon the law and the facts of every case. In furtherance of this interest, judges and judicial candidates, must, to the greatest extent possible, be free and appear to be free from political influence and political pressure. … Public confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary is eroded if judges or judicial candidates are perceived to be subject to political influence.' I suggest the ethical veil distinguishing a judicial candidate from a candidate for legislative or executive office is extremely important but extremely thin. While serving as a district court judge, I applied twice for a vacancy on the Kansas Court of Appeals. At the time, the selection process was the merit-based system that we currently have for selecting our Supreme Court justices. My efforts were unsuccessful. After going through the interview process and an aggressive background investigation, I willingly admit that candidates better than I were chosen to be considered for appointment by the governor. The merit-based selection system works and has worked for more than 50 years. The only reason a change to our state constitution is being sought is because the Kansas Supreme Court issued opinions that conflict with the court of public opinion — or the opinion of lawmakers in Topeka. If court decisions are to align with public opinions, I suggest that our public schools would still be segregated. The independence of our judiciary, free from outside political and ideological influence, is a bedrock to our democracy. An independent judiciary is vital to our government's balance of power with checks and balances. Steve Becker served as Reno County district judge for 26 years and served as state representative for the 104th District for three terms. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat steps forward in race for Kansas governor, focuses on schools and ‘kitchen table' issues
Kansas Sen. Cindy Holscher appears at the Statehouse in Topeka as part of the 50501 national day of action on May 1, 2025. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Kansas Sen. Cindy Holscher says she will seek the Democratic nomination for governor to try to protect public schools and shield the state from a potential double dose of 'flash and burn policies' ignited by Republicans at federal and state levels. Holscher, from Overland Park, planned to announce her candidacy Thursday, becoming the first well-known Democrat to enter the race. A slate of Republicans have already announced their intentions to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is serving her second term. Holscher said she is focusing on 'kitchen table' issues after seeing fellow Democrats lose legislative seats in last year's election. 'I understand the struggles people are facing — that housing is expensive, that food is expensive,' Holscher said. 'Those tend to be the things that I focus on in terms of, you know, what's going to help me, and what's going to help my family, and what's going to help other members of my community succeed. I mean, those are very real big issues in terms of being able to pay your bills, being able to afford rent, and afford the things that you need to get by. So that's where I tend to focus most of my energy.' Holscher served two terms in the Kansas House after winning her first race in 2016, then moved to the Senate in 2020, where she won a seat in a competitive district that was formerly held by the Republican majority leader. While other Democrats struggled, she improved her winning margin from 9 percentage points in 2020 to 23 percentage points in 2024. The way Holscher tells it, she came from 'humble beginnings' in — 'this is the part people don't like' — rural Missouri. 'I was born there — I had no input on it,' she joked, in a nod to the border state rivalry. She said her grandparents were tenant farmers and that her parents took care of the farm while working other jobs. Her father, a veteran, was a construction worker, and her mother was a school janitor. Holscher earned a degree in journalism with a political science emphasis from the University of Missouri, 'but you don't have to mention that,' she said. She said she and her husband moved to the Kansas City, Kansas, metro area more than 25 years ago. They wanted to start a family and were impressed with the schools, she said. She worked in several positions at Sprint Corp., including in operations, where she designed multibillion-dollar budgets. But her kids were in school when former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's administration cratered state finances to pay for his ill-fated 'tax experiment' and engineered steep cuts to public education. Even in Johnson County, which is known for its economic prosperity, schools didn't have enough supplies, Holscher said, and some of the classrooms had shower curtains instead of doors. When her daughter was about 10, she said, they saw one of her teachers working at Target. The daughter asked why her teacher would be working there on the weekend when she already worked full-time at the school. 'I told her, 'Well, we're in the middle of a severe budget crisis. Schools aren't getting funded the way they should, and she probably can't pay her bills,' ' Holscher said. Her daughter looked at Holscher and said: 'You go fix that.' 'As I thought about it, I'm like, OK, good, reasonable people are going to have to step forward to stop this spiraling downward,' Holscher said. 'And that's how I ended up running for office. I've kind of stayed in the fight because every year, that extremist base has gotten bigger, and they're really trying to reach their goals of destroying public education and implementing some of those very backward tax and economic policies.' She said she is running for governor in part because she has now invested 10 years fighting for public schools and economic stability. Holscher supports reproductive health rights, Medicaid expansion and the legalization of medicinal marijuana. She said state tax policy 'isn't real fair to the regular Kansan' and needs to be corrected. She has been a vocal critic of the Committee on Government Efficiency — or COGE, inspired by Elon Musk's federal initiative known as DOGE — where she is the ranking minority member. During recent town halls across the state, she said, people have expressed fear and anxiety about the impact of federal cuts and 'the fact that we have a supermajority of same-style extremists in the Legislature.' Lt. Gov. David Toland, who also serves as commerce secretary, is a potential challenger for the Democratic nomination for governor. But it isn't clear whether Toland, or other Democrats, will run. The Republican field is led by Secretary of State Scott Schwab. Other potential candidates include former Gov. Jeff Colyer, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, state Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O'Hara, businesswoman Stacy Rogers and Wichita school board member Joy Eakins. Only conservative podcaster Doug Billings has paid the filing fee to be a candidate. Holscher said party insiders suggested she could wait to run until 2030 because if a Republican were to win this time around and implement damaging policies, it would be easier for Democrats to win races later. 'The fact of the matter is if all of those damaging policies move forward, and many of them will, that just means that a number of people won't be able to have a future here in Kansas,' Holscher said.
