by the Associated Press and KFDI News:
Capitol Police have banned three Kansas State University students from the Statehouse for a year for participating in the hanging of huge banners favoring Medicaid expansion inside.
Four banners hung briefly from the fifth floor rotunda. They criticized Republican legislative leaders who oppose Medicaid expansion by name and said they have “blood on their hands.”
A legislative policy requires protesters to obtain permission in advance to bring banners into the Statehouse. Legislative Administrative Services Director Tom Day removed them within minutes.
Officer Scott Whitsell said he imposed the yearlong ban because of the policy violation. The banned students are Jonathan Cole, Nate Faflick and Katie Sullivan.
Sullivan questioned whether the ban is legal. But Whitsell said if the students return within a year, they face being cited for criminal trespassing.
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Supporters of expanding Medicaid in Kansas have briefly hung huge banners inside the Statehouse criticizing Republican legislative leaders who oppose the idea.
The four banners hung Wednesday from the fifth floor railings of the rotunda said GOP leaders have “blood on their hands” for blocking Medicaid health coverage for up to 150,000 more Kansas residents.
Protester Thea Perry said such coverage would be life-saving for some individuals. House Majority Leader and Wichita Republican Dan Hawkins dismissed the banners as “ridiculous.” Hawkins later issued a statement saying the demonstrators violated Statehouse policy by making personal attacks against legislative leaders. Hawkins called expansion a “cash grab for a few large hospitals in urban areas,” and he said it would not save rural hospitals or improve health care outcomes. He said the costs of expansion have far exceeded estimates in every state.
The House approved a modified version of Democratic governor Laura Kelly’s expansion plan last week over GOP leaders’ objections. The Senate has yet to consider it.
Legislative Administrative Services Director Tom Day took the banners down within minutes. He said legislative rules require prior permission to hang banners.
