The Kansas Legislature voted to send an intensely divisive bill Wednesday to Gov. Laura Kelly forbidding gender transition surgery, prescribing of puberty blockers and delivery of other gender-affirming care by medical professionals in Kansas to people younger than 18.
State employees would no longer be able to so much as call transgender children by their chosen pronouns under a bill blocking transgender minors in the state from receiving gender-affirming care. The legislation is barreling toward the governor’s desk.
Kansas House lawmakers advanced a wide-ranging bill Tuesday that includes Republican plans to ban trans children from getting gender-affirming medical care amid outcry from worried parents.
A district court has sided with Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on a temporary block to keep Kansas residents from changing the gender listed on their drivers’ licenses.
House Democrats questioned the integrity of two Republicans legislators who brandished their credentials as physicians while promoting harmful misinformation about transgender children during debate Thursday on legislation that would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming care.
Kansas House Rep. Brenda Landwehr kicked the first person out of Thursday’s hearing on anti-transgender legislation for cradling a protest sign in the room.
Kansas advocates for trans rights spoke out Thursday against Republicans’ latest attempt at restricting access to gender-affirming care and criticized a state senator for giving short notice on a hearing to those who would be most affected if the proposal becomes law.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Members of Native American and queer Lawrence communities joined in solidarity for a vigil in honor of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student from Oklahoma who died this month after suffering injuries from a fight in the girls’ bathroom at school — the bathroom state law required them to use.
From protests and a Pride parade to working against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and more, the transgender community in Lawrence celebrated joy and resilience in many ways throughout 2023.
Civil rights advocates argued in court this week that drivers’ licenses should not lead to “forced outing,” leaving a district judge to decide how a divisive law will impact the day-to-day lives of transgender Kansans.
