In our federalist republic, states are often referred to as the “laboratories of democracy.” Policy ideas implemented in an individual state or multiple states can, depending on the results, inform and inspire other states and even our federal government to enact sound policy for the nation. This current state legislative season, the “experiment” in Kansas should be replicated in other laboratories across the nation and in our capital.
In a single session, the legislature in Kansas passed several important measures.
The Kansas Intellectual Rights and Knowledge Act (KIRK Act) (part of HB 2333), named in honor of assassinated free speech advocate Charlie Kirk, protects the freedom of students to engage in speech and expressive activities at public colleges.
The legislature also added a provision in next year’s state budget that prevents taxpayer dollars from flowing to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood.
The lawmakers additionally enacted two bills that strengthen protections for women under the state’s Women’s Right to Know Act: HB 2727 removes burdensome “red tape” that makes it more costly for women to sue abortionists who violate the state’s informed consent requirements, and HB 2729 standardizes the informed consent form given to abortion-seeking women, including giving women information about alternatives to abortion.
The state passed comprehensive protections for women’s privacy in all public buildings (SB 244). It protected the life-saving work of pregnancy centers (HB 2635), ensuring state and local entities can’t discriminate against these organizations or force them to perform or refer a woman for abortion.
And finally, Kansas passed the Education Freedom Tax Credit bill (SB 361), enabling Kansans to receive a federal tax credit for donating to organizations that give families scholarships to attend private schools of their choice.
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All of these bills were passed despite opposition from some powerful lobbies and Gov. Laura Kelly. In fact, the Kansas Legislature voted to override the governor’s veto on every one of these provisions. Some states with conservative majorities in both houses of the legislature and the governor’s office struggle to match the achievements of a divided government in Kansas, which begs the question: Why?
As the saying goes, “people are policy.” The success of the Kansas Legislature proves this point—electing public servants committed to protecting life, free speech, and educational choice led to substantive policies on each of these issues.
For those of us who live in states where frustratingly little seems to get done, the temptation is to point the finger at our elected officials. But as my kindergarten teacher taught me, when you point the finger at someone, you have three more pointing back at you. We the people are responsible for our choices at the ballot box and for accepting, if not endorsing, the ineffectiveness of our legislatures by continuing to send the same people there. Or, more to the point, the same type of people—those who prioritize rhetoric over results.
Effective policymaking at all levels of government requires people of knowledge, wisdom, and principle. The ability to eloquently espouse the principles upon which one stands is of little use if those espousing them are unable or unwilling to act upon them. Principled action—and its vastly undervalued companion, principled inaction—must be combined with practical knowledge and relational intelligence to shepherd a promising idea into law or to prevent a bad idea from becoming law. The wisdom is knowing which is called for and when.
The legislators of Kansas deserve credit for their success this session and, just as importantly, the voters who have set the bar high for public servants are to be commended. Both are examples for the rest of the nation. And if we fail to follow that example, we might end up on the wrong end of a somewhat cynical aphorism attributed to H.L. Mencken: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”
Lathan Watts is the vice president of public affairs for Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) and its sister organization ADF Action. He earned his juris doctor degree from the University of Mississippi.
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