
Photos: Lawrence community members rally for transgender rights during bicycle race
Pink, white and blue flags abounded Saturday as Lawrence community members gathered to show support for transgender cyclists during the Belgian Waffle Ride.
Pink, white and blue flags abounded Saturday as Lawrence community members gathered to show support for transgender cyclists during the Belgian Waffle Ride.
With a zest to learn the ins and outs of community organizing and civic engagement, two human rights advocates from the Balkans have made Lawrence their temporary home for four weeks.
Ruby Johnson said she began to live as herself when she came out in Lawrence. She asked city commissioners Tuesday evening to adopt a safe haven ordinance to create more protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming people. And they did, 5-0.
Lawrence community members and representatives from organizations gathered Saturday morning at South Park for a rally with a strong message: Pride never ends.
No SB 180 in Lawrence, a group of local activists who have joined together to fight Kansas’ anti-transgender legislation, will host a celebration of trans performers and a call for action on Tuesday.
After hearing from about 70 people Tuesday, Vice Mayor Bart Littlejohn encouraged people to reach out to the city to discuss possibilities for an ordinance to protect transgender and gender-nonconforming people from Kansas’ anti-trans legislation.
Though many LGBTQ+ people and others may leave the state of Kansas repulsed by legislation targeting gender diversity, Adam Kellogg said he’ll have to be dragged out by his ears. “I will not stop fighting for the kids that can’t leave,” he said.
Nearly three dozen people spoke to the Lawrence City Commission Tuesday, asking commissioners to make Lawrence a sanctuary city for transgender and nonbinary people by taking a stand against the Kansas Legislature.
The Lawrence PRIDE parade and block party brought colorful celebration to downtown Saturday, but they also included messages of support and resistance for transgender and gender-nonconforming folks who have been targeted by legislation in Kansas and beyond.
Time is likely limited for transgender folks to get their gender markers changed on their Kansas birth certificates and IDs, according to an attorney who’s an expert on the topic. Here are the basics of how the process works.
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