Good news out of Kansas for our LGBTQ community. Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a total of four bills designed to limit the security, privacy, & dignity of transgender Kansans. In her veto statement Governor Kelly stated that “companies have made it clear that they are not interested in doing business with states that discriminate against workers & their families. I’m focused on the economy. Anyone care to join me?” The bills would have prohibits transgender youth from receiving gender affirming care, apply a definition of gender discriminating against transgender individuals, require individuals to use restrooms aligning with their gender assigned at birth & forced misgendering overnight & jail cell accommodations for transgender Kansans. Cathryn Oakley, HRC’s State Legislative Director & Senior Counsel stated, “Governor Kelly did the right thing. By vetoing a series of bills designed solely to discriminate against LGBTQ+ – particularly transgender – Kansans, she rejected the politics of hate & division being perpetrated by the state legislature, all while keeping her focus on the issues that really matter. She’s right that discrimination is bad for business, bad for Kansas & bad for this nation.” So far in 2023 more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced in statehouses across the country. More than 210 of those bills would specifically restrict the rights of transgender people which is the highest number of bills targeting transgender people in a single year to date. Over 300 major U.S. corporations have stood up & spoken out to oppose anti-LGBTQ legislation being proposed in states across the country. Major employers in tech, manufacturing, hospitality, health care, retail & other sectors are joining with a unified voice to say discrimination is bad for business & to call on lawmakers to abandon these efforts.
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