LGBTQ advocates gathered for a rally at the Kansas Statehouse highlighting legislation targeting transgender people.
Equality Kansas, the leading LGBTQ rights group in the state, organized the rally, which was attended by Gov. Laura Kelly; Rep. Susan Ruiz, D-Shawnee; and LGBTQ allies and activists. Kelly said she’s proud she has been able to veto some legislation targeting transgender people.
Last year, she vetoed bills that ban transgender women from gendered spaces like women’s restrooms, locker rooms and shelters, which was eventually overturned. Her veto of a bill banning all gender-affirming care for minors, including the prescribing of puberty-blockers or cross-sex hormones, narrowly survived an attempted override.
“These bills weren’t designed to protect children, they were about politics pure and simple,” Kelly said. “Laws like these send a signal that here in Kansas, we’re more focused on divisive and unnecessary legislation than in making your state a place where young people want to come, to live, to work, to raise a family.”