Post updated at 11:28 a.m. Jan. 12:
Lawrence community members at a rally Saturday committed to resisting any and all upcoming efforts to suppress transgender and gender-nonconforming folks.
More than 80 people braved the 30° temperatures and snowy outdoors for the rally held at Watson Park.
Afterward, the group marched to Lawrence City Hall. They waved flags and displayed handwritten signs with messages including “Trans people deserve joy and safety” and “Silence = Death.”

Isaac Johnson, of Trans Lawrence Coalition, helped organize the rally to show solidarity with trans people and all marginalized groups.
He said given that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will soon take office, along with other conservatives filling seats at every level of government, local protections matter and a sense of belonging is paramount.

“We’re here to tell them, hey, no matter what you do, no matter how much you try to police us out of existence, legislate us out of existence, we’re still going to be here,” Johnson said. “You can’t get rid of us. You can’t put these policies in place and tell us we can’t be out in public, we can’t transition, this or that. You cannot get rid of us.”
Recent legislative sessions have included efforts to eradicate rights for trans, nonbinary and gender-noncomforming Kansans. Lawrence in summer 2023 declared itself a safe haven.
Hana Sparks spoke about the violence she witnessed from Israeli soldiers toward Palestinians when she recently traveled to the West Bank with an activist organization.
A story Sparks told recounted when she told a peer working for the same advocacy organization that she’s trans. The two come from different backgrounds and have different first languages, but Sparks’ vulnerability was met with love and acceptance. That’s what the world is missing, she said.

“We need accountability when a genocidal, transphobic world is allowed to exist,” Sparks said. “We need people to find their humanity. We need people who have lost it to recognize the prison they’re putting themselves in. To my beautiful trans community, we may not have national power, but we have power here in Lawrence.”
Lawrence City Commissioner Amber Sellers was one of three local government officials who spoke at the rally. Her overarching message was to “fight like hell.”

“Now is not the time for us to sit down and be idle,” Sellers said. “Now is the time to get in people’s face and say, ‘How is what you’re doing benefiting me, and how is what you’re doing benefiting we and us?’”
Trans Lawrence Coalition originated from the No SB 180 campaign and now continues advocating for the well-being of trans Kansans. Johnson said the group is currently making plans to begin speaking directly with legislators at the state capitol.
Follow the coalition on Instagram, @translawrencecoalition, and Facebook to stay up to date.





















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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

Molly Adams (she/her), photojournalist and news operations coordinator for The Lawrence Times, can be reached at molly@lawrencekstimes.com. Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.