Governor weighs implications of Kansas bill delving into liberty interests of speech, religion

Gov. Laura Kelly is reviewing a bill overwhelmingly passed by the Kansas Legislature establishing the crime of interrupting religious services that raises compelling questions about boundaries of First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion. The bill passed the House and Senate with majorities that could override a veto. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature reacted to a high-profile immigration protest inside a Minnesota church by sending Gov. Laura Kelly a bill authorizing the filing of criminal charges and initiation of lawsuits over alleged interference with religious assembly.

The bill wasn’t inspired by disturbances in Kansas, but was introduced in February in wake of the Jan. 18 incident in which former CNN host Don Lemon and others entered Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The objective was for protesters to denounce a pastor who worked as an immigration enforcement officer. Two U.S. citizens were killed by federal officers during an immigration crackdown centered on St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In Kansas, the faith-based 1st Amendment Partnership, the Kansas Catholic Conference and Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, persuaded legislators to support state-level protections for religious gatherings. They sought statutes that went beyond laws tied to disorderly conduct and trespassing.

Proponents anchored their advocacy to the Bill of Rights of the Kansas Constitution, while opponents argued the legislation was redundant under Kansas law and infringed on constitutionally protected expression.

The lobbying resulted in introduction of Senate Bill 520, which was folded into House Bill 2018 before the House and Senate sent it to Democratic governor. In addition to creating misdemeanor and felony charges for disruption of religious services, the bill enabled state courts to impose fines against violators ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 for each infraction. It also granted individuals an opportunity to file lawsuits in state court if injured during intrusions of their religious activity.

In Minnesota, Lemon and three dozen others were charged under a federal law designed to protect patients and providers at reproductive health clinics as well as individuals exercising religious freedom. Lemon said he was at the church as a journalist and his arrest was an attack on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Not tolerated

Lance Kinzer, policy director for the 1st Amendment Partnership of Washington, D.C., and a former member of the Kansas House, said escalation of harassment and violence against people taking part in religious activities necessitated adoption in Kansas of criminal and civil penalties to deter wrongdoers.

“While a recent protest and disruption of a service at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, has garnered significant attention, this bill responds to a much broader reality,” Kinzer said. “Social norms against disrupting religious services at houses of worship have eroded, making them targets for, rather than sanctuaries from, intimidation and harassment.”

Masterson, a GOP candidate for governor, said the legislation recognized a house of worship wasn’t the proper venue for protests that obstructed services or threatened people. He said the goal wasn’t to limit peaceful speech, but to deal with “conduct that crosses the line.” The bill on Kelly’s desk reinforced the proposition that events that transpired in Minnesota “will not be tolerated in Kansas,” the senator said.

“As fundamental as this principle may seem, we saw how even it could come under threat earlier this year in Minnesota when activists protesting ICE entered a church during a Sunday service,” Masterson said.

Logan DeMond, director of policy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said the bill would have a chilling effect on the exercise of constitutional freedoms.

“Protecting the right to worship is critically important, but it must be balanced with protecting the fundamental right to free expression,” DeMond said. “The bill’s civil enforcement provisions only heighten these concerns.”

Satanic Grotto?

Rep. Heather Meyer, an Overland Park Democrat, acknowledged her endorsement of the bill might puzzle to some legislators. She was persuaded to get on board because the bill had the potential to prohibit interference with constitutionally protected religious expression anywhere — even at the Kansas Capitol.

She referenced Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart, who was arrested in March 2025 by Capitol Police while attempting to conduct a “black mass” in the statehouse’s rotunda. Stewart was forbidden to speak of his religious beliefs in the Capitol, despite a practice in the House and Senate to begin daily sessions with a prayer. He was denied despite Catholic organizations regularly conducting rallies on the Capitol steps and engaging in policy advocacy, including displays of graphic anti-abortion posters, in the rotunda.

Meyer said enactment of HB 2018 could resolve controversy about religious expression that led to selective law enforcement action against Stewart.

“We can conduct a religious assembly anywhere,” Meyer said. “That got me wondering if our friend, the Satanic Grotto, would be able to come here to the Capitol to perform his ritual? Say someone was going to desecrate a communion wafer? That’s their right to religious assembly. Then, if you tried to interfere with them at all, you could face up to $25,000 in a civil suit. Well, guess what? This makes sure they have the right. They can do it on Capitol grounds. Any place can be part of your religious assembly.”

Meyer also said she was convinced if the governor signed the bill into law it would forbid ICE from disrupting worship services attended by U.S. citizens or immigrants in the United States without government permission.

Rep. Tom Kessler, the Wichita Republican who carried the bill on the House floor, said Meyer must have read a different set of documents outlining intent of the bill.

“This is a pretty simple religious freedom (bill),” Kessler said. “You can’t block. You can’t hurt people. Pretty simple stuff.”