Incumbent Sen. Chase Blasi, a Wichita Republican, is trying to defend his Statehouse seat from J.C. Moore, who has served in the Legislature before. Moore sells himself as more of a moderate Republican while Blasi leans more conservative in a key Republican primary race. The winner of the primary takes on Raymond Shore Jr. in the […]
transgender
Posted inState Government
A year later, the Kansas trans athlete ban appears to matter more as a symbol than in practice
It’s been a year since Kansas lawmakers banned transgender women from women’s sports in schools or colleges. But the hotly debated issue — banning trans female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports has been a pet issue of Republican-controlled legislatures across the country — appears to have had little practical effect so far in Kansas. […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
Kansas and Missouri bans may spur families to travel far out of state for gender-affirming care
If Kansas bans gender-affirming care for minors, Kansas City families with transgender children will be hundreds of miles from a doctor who could help them. Kansas lawmakers stand poised to follow a conservative playbook that 24 states, including Missouri, already have used to outlaw treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The Kansas Legislature passed […]
Posted inHealth, Kansas State Government
Kansas and Missouri bans may spur families to travel far out of state for gender-affirming care
If Kansas bans gender-affirming care for minors, Kansas City families with transgender children will be hundreds of miles from a doctor who could help them. Kansas lawmakers stand poised to follow a conservative playbook that 24 states, including Missouri, already have used to outlaw treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The Kansas Legislature passed […]
Posted inState Government
When social issues stall Missouri lawmakers, statewide officials make their own rules
Who needs legislators? Especially when they can’t even pass laws on the hottest of hot-button issues? Instead, conservative Republicans who hold every statewide office in Missouri increasingly show they can limit what materials libraries can stock, toss aside rules on socially responsible investments and shut off access to gender-affirming care. When lawmakers in the Missouri […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas may ban gender-affirming care for minors. Doctors cite physical and mental costs of waiting
Takeaways: Iridescent Riffel wishes she could have started gender-affirming treatment when she was younger. Riffel, a transgender Kansan, said she wasn’t in a welcoming home, so she delayed her transition until she felt more safe. She went through an unwanted puberty while she waited. “I didn’t really want to grow facial hair,” she said. “A […]
Posted inHealth, Kansas State Government
Kansas may ban gender-affirming care for minors. Doctors cite physical and mental costs of waiting
Takeaways: Iridescent Riffel wishes she could have started gender-affirming treatment when she was younger. Riffel, a transgender Kansan, said she wasn’t in a welcoming home, so she delayed her transition until she felt more safe. She went through an unwanted puberty while she waited. “I didn’t really want to grow facial hair,” she said. “A […]
Posted inState Government
It took three years for Kansas lawmakers to ban trans athletes from girls’ teams. What happens now?
Transgender and nonbinary student athletes will no longer be allowed to play on girls’ sports teams in Kansas schools, following the state legislature’s override of Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2238. The Kansas trans sports ban does not restrict who might play on boys’ teams. The override is the culmination of a three-year […]
Posted inKansas State Government
It took three years for Kansas lawmakers to ban trans athletes from girls’ teams. What happens now?
Transgender and nonbinary student athletes will no longer be allowed to play on girls’ sports teams in Kansas schools, following the state legislature’s override of Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2238. The Kansas trans sports ban does not restrict who might play on boys’ teams. The override is the culmination of a three-year […]
Posted inLocal Government
Wichita LGBTQ+ advocate Jackie Carter: Parents are ‘just terrified’ for their children
Jackie Carter is a longtime Wichita resident and LGBTQ advocate. She is the senior pastor at Table of Hope, formerly known as the First Metropolitan Community Church of Kansas. It is affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church group, which was designed and created as the first religious community that would ordain, marry and include gay […]