Following the passage of new anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Kansas, a panel of local activists will gather in Lawrence to shed light on threats to LGBTQ+ rights.
As part of its monthly Saturday Seminar, the Douglas County Democrats will be hosting four LGBTQ+ rights activists to speak on some of the most urgent issues, according to a Facebook event page.
Senate Bill 180, the so-called “women’s bill of rights” that does not enumerate any rights for women, was passed this past legislative session and goes into effect July 1. The statute is intended to bar transgender people from using the bathrooms, locker rooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity, but much is still unknown and unclear about how it will be enforced.
Saturday’s event, “Existence & Resistance: A LGBTQ+ Activists Panel,” is open to all and will provide advocates and allies with mechanisms to defend human rights, according to the event page. All are welcome to attend.
Panelists include Jae Moyer, community political activist in Overland Park; Adam Kellogg, activist and University of Kansas psychology student; Donnavan Dillon, Loud Light political activist and KU political science and sociology student; and Brynn Fitzsimmons, KU graduate student and graduate teaching assistant in English.
The panel discussion is scheduled for Saturday, June 17 in the auditorium at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. Those interested in networking with one another will meet at 9:30 a.m., followed by the panel at 10 a.m. The event will also be livestreamed for those who would like to watch virtually, and the link will be posted to the Facebook event page before Saturday.
The event is free to attend. The arts center is wheelchair accessible “with a wide lobby and an elevator that leads to the front row of the auditorium,” the event page noted.
Many panel attendees will journey over to South Park afterward for the all-day Juneteenth celebration happening in downtown Lawrence, according to the event page. The parade down Massachusetts Street is set to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Visit the Facebook event page to learn more about the panel discussion.
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Note: Post updated June 18, 2023
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August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
