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As a lifelong Kansan and queer person of color, one of the things that makes me proud to be a resident of our beautiful state is the compassion and kindness we have for our communities and neighbors. Whether it’s called Midwestern niceness or the golden rule, Kansans share a notable care for others.
This attitude can be dated to the entrance of Kansas into the Union as a free state in 1861. Our state chose to oppose slavery, cementing Kansas as a place for all. Acceptance, tolerance and care are ingrained in who we are.
Despite our history, Kansas legislators have prioritized anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent years. This trend has been seen across the entire country, manifesting in legislation such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. This year, we have seen at least eight bills introduced in Kansas.
The anti-LGBTQ+ bills include:
House Bill 2238: Bans transgender girls in K-12 schools and college from playing sports.
House Bill 2376: Prohibits city or county nondiscrimination ordinances that are more restrictive than state law (state law doesn’t protect LBGTQ+ people).
Senate Bill 12: Bans gender-affirming health care for ages 21 and under.
Senate Bill 233: Allows individuals who receive gender-affirming health care to sue the physician who provided the care.
Senate Bill 149: Bans drag performances for minors, regardless of performance content.
Senate Bill 201: Bans state funding of drag shows for an audience of minors.
Senate Bill 207: Bans use of pronouns that don’t correspond with “biological sex” in schools.
Senate Bill 180: Legally defines “biological sex” in terms related to the ability to procreate, and excludes transgender and intersex individuals from the ability to access sex-segregated spaces such as bathrooms, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers and more.
According to the Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index, 315 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were proposed across the nation in 2022, but 91% did not pass. In Kansas, none of the recent bills proposed have become law, but the Legislature debates them every year.
For bills like the trans athlete sports ban, which is back for its third year, Kansans have shown up repeatedly in overwhelming opposition. In 2022, there were 109 opponents and 11 proponents. Despite the mass unpopularity of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, we still see these bills popping back up.
The question we need to be asking ourselves is: Why?
The answer: Certain elected officials have shown they are more dedicated to personal and party agendas than the constituents they are elected to represent.
Having been engaged in Kansas politics since I was a teenager, I’ve watched this formulaic phenomena time and time again from the same actors. Anti-LGBTQ+ proposals have entered committee from the pens of elected officials including Rep. Barb Wasinger, Sen. Mark Steffen, Sen. Mike Thompson and Sen. Renee Erickson.
These bills are introduced and pushed out of committee despite opposition, voted in each chamber by the Republican supermajority, and sent to the governor’s desk, where they are vetoed. In order to stop this vicious cycle of harm, we need to ask ourselves: What can we do to stop it?
My solution: We as Kansans must change our organizing and engagement tactics to ensure anti-LGBTQ+ legislation ceases to appear in our state.
That includes engagement in the Legislature and during election season. It includes holding elected officials and their actions to account, throughout the year. It is one thing to say we stand with the LGBTQ+ community, but it’s another to back it with actual commitment.
We also have to do more as a collective to spread awareness of the individual representatives who perpetuate harm. We have to keep their names in the news media and our day to day conversations to no longer let them hide behind closed doors and party line votes. Legislators can not keep saying that they don’t hate the LGBTQ+ community while they continue to vote to strip away our rights and protections.
While it seems like a lot for everyday Kansans to join in this kind of work, becoming a part of this movement has become easier than ever in recent years. Organizations such as the ACLU of Kansas, Loud Light and Equality Kansas have been building infrastructure to make public involvement more accessible than ever for all Kansans. However, it starts with us acting on our collective values to battle the hate and bigotry that have no place in the state we call home.
— Donnavan Dillon (he/him) is a Lawrence native studying political science and sociology at the University of Kansas. He is an LGBTQ+ advocate and community organizer with a passion for youth issues. He believes in the power of community organizing and that through organizing we can create a more equitable Kansas for all.
Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here. Find how to submit your own commentary to The Lawrence Times here.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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