The state has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations since 2020.

In 1976, a proposed bill to repeal the now-only homosexual sodomy law was approved by the Kansas House of Representatives by a vote of 21 to 19.

The Kansas Legislature acted quickly, passing a law the following year forbidding the "oral-genital stimulation between the tongue of a male and the genital area of a female."

By the end of 1934, 1,362 people had been sterilized under the law; 19% via the procedures of castration or oophorectomy, which the state defended as "limit[ing] lewdness and vice".

Through 1948, the number of sterilizations had reached about 3,000, the third-highest in the entire United States, a majority on the ground of "insanity and mental retardation".

[1] The U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas rendered laws banning consensual sexual activity unenforceable, including that of Kansas.

On October 7, 2014, officials in Johnson County began accepting licenses for marriage applications, due to the Supreme Court's recent refusal to hear a Utah case now binding on Kansas.

[5] On November 18, 2014, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that Johnson County had been within its jurisdiction to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on its interpretation of the law.

[16] Between 2007 and 2015, Kansas prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in government employment due to an executive order issued by Governor Kathleen Sebelius in August 2007.

[18] In January 2019, Governor Laura Kelly, shortly after taking office, signed an executive order to protect state government employees and contractors from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

[36][37][38] In August 2020, the Kansas Human Rights Commission announced in light of Bostock that it will also investigate and resolve cases alleging discrimination in housing and public accommodations, such as retail stores and educational institutions.

In March 2024, the Kansas State Legislature passed a bill redefining content containing "acts of homosexuality" as being harmful to minors, in the same category as most forms of pornography.

[47][48][49] Kansas in the past couple of years legally allowed transgender people to change the sex marker on their birth certificate, driver's license and other personal documents by court order.

[50] After the law was passed on July 1, governor Laura Kelly announced that the Kansas Department of Revenue would continue serving requests for citizens to change their gender identity.

[51] Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued two officials in Kelly's administration over her denouncement of the law, and a temporary two-week restraining order was granted by judge Teresa Watson prohibiting gender identity changes to driver's licenses, citing a "public safety concern.

"[52][53] In October 2018, Lambda Legal filed a suit in court arguing that the policy of denying transgender people an updated birth certificate reflecting their gender identity is unconstitutional.

[57] A federal judge granted part of a preliminary injunction in favor of the teacher while her case proceeded, allowing her to out the students to their parents.

[45] Just immediately before Easter, the Kansas Legislature voted (by a two-thirds majority) in both houses to override and bypass the Governor veto to enact the legislation on legally banning transgender individuals from female sports and athletics - effective from July 1.

[65] On April 12, 2024, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a ban on hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery for minors.

[67] In April 2023, a bill passed the Kansas Legislature to explicitly legally ban any transgender individuals within bathrooms and locker rooms of schools, hotels, bars and/or other businesses big or small statewide.

[68][69][70] Recent opinion polls have shown that support for LGBTQ people across the U.S. state of Kansas is increasing significantly and opposition is decreasing.

A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) opinion poll found that 57% of Kansas residents supported same-sex marriage, while 37% opposed it and 6% were unsure.

[71] A 2022 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) opinion poll found that 69% of Kansas residents supported same-sex marriage, while 30% opposed it and 1% were unsure.