**Exclusive:** The KS SB244 Compliance Crew tells Gaysbie why its members entered women’s facilities—and how the law encourages people to police one another’s bodies.

Police were called after three transgender men entered the women’s restroom and changing area at a water park in Dodge City, Kansas.

But the men were not breaking the law. **They were following it.**

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_Courtesy of @kscompliancecrew._

On 8 August, three members of the KS SB244 Compliance Crew visited Long Branch Lagoon, a City of Dodge City water park, wearing yellow shirts identifying them as part of the protest group.

The self-described **“bearded, burly”** trans men used facilities corresponding to their sex assigned at birth, as required by Kansas’ **new bathroom law.**

## What happened at the water park?

According to the protesters and reporting by Erin in the Morning, a manager reacted by clearing children from the women’s restroom and changing area before police arrived.

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_Courtesy of @kscompliancecrew._

The men said they did not undress or behave inappropriately. Despite following the law, they reportedly had to **provide officers with uncomfortable and intimate information about their bodies to establish that they were legally permitted to be there.**

The group also said the manager and responding officers **appeared unfamiliar** with SB 244 and had not been informed about how it should be enforced.

**No arrests were reported.**

The incident captured the contradiction at the centre of the law: legislation promoted as a way to keep men out of women’s facilities **required three men to enter one.**

## What does Kansas’ bathroom law require?

House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 requires multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, locker rooms and shower rooms in public buildings to be designated according to sex.

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Under the law, “public building” generally means a building owned or leased by a government body. The restrictions therefore apply in places including government buildings, public libraries, state parks and other publicly owned facilities.

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_Gov. Laura Kelly pushes back against Kansas Legislature with veto of 24 bills_

Kansas lawmakers overrode Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto on 18 February 2026, **and the law took effect on 26 February.**

Kelly had described the legislation as **poorly drafted** and warned that its broad wording could produce consequences extending far **beyond bathrooms.** Following the override, she criticised lawmakers for spending public money on what she called a manufactured problem. Her full statements are available through the Kansas Governor’s Office.

The law also creates several enforcement mechanisms. A second violation can result in a **$1,000 civil penalty,** while a third or subsequent violation can be treated as **a Class B misdemeanor.** It also allows someone who claims their privacy was invaded to pursue **actual damages or $1,000 in liquidated damages.**

SB 244 goes beyond bathrooms. It also restricts changes to gender markers and invalidated previously issued Kansas driving licences and birth certificates when their markers did not match the state’s definition of sex.

## An exclusive statement to Gaysbie

Explaining why they took part in the action, the KS SB244 Compliance Crew told Gaysbie directly:

**“We decided to take this action because we’re in a unique position to make a statement on the frivolity of SB244 and gender policing in general.**

**“Having Kansans guess each other’s genitals based on outward appearance and encouraging us to sue each other over it and involve police is dangerous and frankly creepy.**

**“We want folks to understand that this isn’t just a trans issue, it’s a privacy and safety issue that affects us all.”**

The group’s protest uses direct compliance to demonstrate what the legislation means in practice. Its members have visited women’s facilities in several Kansas municipalities while wearing shirts that clearly identify the action and its connection to SB 244.

The protesters argue that trans men are in a distinctive position to expose the law’s contradiction visually. A trans man who is routinely recognised as male may be required to enter a women’s facility—**or risk penalties by using the men’s.**

**SB 244 is being challenged in court**

The law is currently facing a **constitutional challenge.**

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Kansas and Ballard Spahr filed a lawsuit on behalf of transgender Kansans whose driving licences were invalidated.

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The case argues that SB 244 violates protections within the Kansas Constitution relating to personal autonomy, privacy, equality, due process and freedom of expression.

A request for a temporary restraining order was denied in March. An evidentiary hearing concerning a temporary injunction is scheduled to begin on 29 September 2026.

Until a court blocks the relevant provisions or the law is repealed, trans Kansans must continue navigating the choice demonstrated by the Compliance Crew: **use a facility that matches their gender and risk legal action,** or follow the law and potentially face **confrontation, humiliation or police involvement.**

## The reality of policing bathrooms

Supporters of bathroom bans commonly present them as privacy and safety measures. The Dodge City incident demonstrates how enforcing such laws can instead require workers, members of the public and police **to make assumptions about strangers’ bodies.**

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_Courtesy of @kscompliancecrew._

Those assumptions will not exclusively affect trans people. Anyone whose appearance does not conform to conventional expectations of masculinity or femininity could be **questioned, reported or subjected to scrutiny.**

**The three protesters followed the rule exactly—and police were still called.**

**That is the point their protest was created to make.**

_All photographs, videos and firsthand statements supplied by and credited to @kscompliancecrew._

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Police called after three trans men followed Kansas’ new bathroom law

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