Kansas GOP’s disrespect for transgender people
The Kansas Republican Party will “oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity” under a resolution recently approved by its state committee, which has about 180 members. The party also claims in the same resolution that it “recognizes the dignity of every human being, including those who identify as LGBT.”
The statement, dated Feb. 17, goes on to say that the party affirms “God’s design for gender as determined by biological sex and not by self-perception.” To read the entire resolution, which was approved at the party’s state convention in Wichita, go to https://goo.gl/HhWbga.
The Wichita Eagle reported that the statement’s author, Eric Teetsel, who is the son-in-law of anti-LGBT former Gov. Sam Brownback, said: “Ultimately, we are motivated by love. It is concern for the well-being of others that drives us to seek out what is true and not just for society, but for them personally.”
Teetsel, a member of the Republican state committee, is also the president of the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas. The organization states on its website: “Our vision is a nation where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is cherished.”
The Eagle reported this response from Thomas Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, which advocates for the rights of LGBT people in Kansas: “This is a cheap election year attack by Sam Brownback’s son-in-law, and yet another attempt to dehumanize those who do not fit inside the narrow world view of Brownback, his family, and his wing of the Republican party.”
Approving a resolution like this is demeaning to transgender people and polarizing to the party, particularly at a time when it is already at risk of losing many younger voters.
March for Our Lives on March 24 for gun control
Spurred by the rage that millions of Americans are feeling over the murders of 17 high school children in Parkland, Florida, rallies and marches are being held around the country to get our politicians to do something about gun control.
The national March for Our Lives event will be March 24 in Washington, D.C., and that same day, Kansas City’s march will be from noon to 4 p.m. at the J.C. Nichols Fountain in Mill Creek Park, 50 W. 47th St., by the Kansas City Plaza. You can follow the plans on two Facebook pages of that name.
Both Facebook pages for this event already are reporting thousands of people saying they are either attending or interested. If the turnout is anything close to those numbers in Kansas City, that location may not be big enough. Some are already suggesting a larger venue like Union Station and downtown streets, as we saw for the celebration of the Kansas City Royals’ World Series victory in 2015.
We have all witnessed the incredible strength and conviction of the young students who are not giving up in putting pressure on elected politicians, including the president, to stop talking, stop sending only “thoughts and prayers,” and finally come up with solutions to ending the carnage of gun violence.
Teen Vogue magazine was quick to report a story from the Palm Beach Post that four survivors of the Pulse LGBTQ nightclub shooting that killed 49 people in 2016 joined Florida high school students on Feb. 20 on their buses to the state Capitol in Tallahassee. The students met with legislators about changing gun laws and later met with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida at a televised town hall on CNN.
None of us wants to see any more mass shootings – in schools, concerts, nightclubs or anywhere else. Thanks to the young people who are creating a movement for gun control, that may finally help put an end to easy purchases of assault weapons, may intensify background checks, and more.