🌻Kansas LGBTQ+ Activist 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (They/Them) 🌻Johnson Co., KS DEI Committeemember. 🌻 Friends of the JoCo Library Boardmember. Views expressed are my own.
🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🌻
I am extremely proud to announce that by a vote of 5-2 by the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners, I have been appointed as one of the first members of the brand new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coalition in Johnson County.
#ksleg
#lgbtq
TODAY- At Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, KS, students will walk out of classes at 10:45 AM to protest an AP English teacher who wrote a right-wing op-ed claiming that SMN teachers are "indoctrinating" children. (🧵)
#ksleg
#ksed
BREAKING NEWS: Every “Moms for Liberty” school board candidate in Johnson County, KS (the largest county in the state of Kansas) LOST their race! Extremist and hate LOST in Johnson County last night, and common sense and inclusion WON!
#ksleg
#lgbtq
#kansas
BREAKING: The Kansas House of Representatives VOTES TO SUSTAIN
@GovLauraKelly
’s veto of SB233, a ban on gender-affirming care!!! This LIFESAVING healthcare are will REMAIN accessible to LGBTQ+ youth who need it in Kansas! This is a BIG WIN! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🌻
#ksleg
You can try to erase me from state statute with bills like SB 180, but you can’t erase me from Kansas. I still exist. I am still nonbinary. Why does my existence threaten you?
#ksleg
#kansas
#lgbtq
Let me be clear: as a proud graduate of Shawnee Mission North, students are NOT being indoctrinated. Rather, this teacher is misguided, and using her biases and privilege to promote an agenda; not the other way around.
Last night, KS
@GovLauraKelly
(someone who I am proud to call MY Governor) went on CNN and was the FIRST of the Dem women who are Govs to remind America that this next election, reproductive healthcare will be on the minds of many voters.
#ksleg
(1/3)
I am sobbing. Can we not just have like one nice thing??? Why does Kansas City (or America) have to be this place where we can’t go anywhere or do anything fun or nice without worrying about being shot? Luckily I am safe, left before it happened.
#KansasCityChiefs
#unionstation
The teacher (Caedran Sullivan) has come under previous scrutiny by other students, graduates, and co-workers for "unprofessional" behavior, such as subtle transphobia, homophobia, and racism in her classroom, and even for being charged with a DUI.
#KSLEG
ALERT: Kansas GOP House Reps have JUST filed and co-sponsored a bill that BANS abortion in Kansas (but leaves an exception for the life of the mother).
LET ME BE VERY CLEAR. Abortion is NECESSARY HEALTHCARE, and lawmakers have ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO MAKE DECISIONS ON IT.
BREAKING FROM GARDNER, KANSAS:
Gardner/Edgerton School Board votes 6-1 to keep “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie in the curriculum (a book which has been criticized as too “inappropriate”, and advocates have argued to have banned).
#ksleg
I’m 23 and a proud Gen Z Kansan. Since I can remember,
#Kansas
hasn’t voted to send their electors to the Democratic candidate for president.
I’m doing whatever I can to stop Trump in my state in 2024.
If you aren't prepared to do that- if you aren't prepared to be an advocate for the students you teach, regardless of ANYTHING, then you shouldn't be an educator. Most of the people working at North achieve this. Others, like Sullivan, in my opinion? They simply miss the mark.
Okay I didn’t win but rt if you think it’s insanely awesome that a non-binary person got over 32k votes in Johnson County KANSAS.
We sure did move the needle with this one 🥳 and the work isn’t done, I’m not going anywhere.
#election2021
#RepresentationMatters
However, I attribute the success that I had in high school as an openly LGBTQ+ student to the teachers that Sullivan so loudly (and so wrongly) claims are "indoctrinating" us. Those are the folks who simply look out for *every* student- no matter what.
The
#ksleg
took breaks during the day today to observe the Christian holiday Ash Wednesday so legislators could go to church and be told to not judge one another.
Then they came back and passed 3 bills attacking LGBTQ+ Kansans.
So much for not judging others.
Tomorrow, DeSantis will be in Olathe.
Tomorrow, Derek Schmidt will sing his praises.
Tomorrow, JoCo will show him that his human-trafficking, forced-birth, transphobic policies are not welcome in KS.
Tomorrow, I will show up in peaceful protest to help let him know who KS is.
When I was a student at SMN, the school (still) had a long way to go to create a safe and welcoming environment for every student (regardless of race, sexual orientation, or gender identity).
In her article, Sullivan incorrectly claims other SM North teachers are "indoctrinating" students with "woke" ideology, including critical race theory and LGBTQ+ ideology. You can read her article here:
They want to do the same thing in Kansas.
It’s funny, because the Kansas economy was all but ruined until
@GovLauraKelly
took over. She nursed it back to health, but some folks just want to send us right back into a hole, it seems…
#ksleg
Arizona replaced a graduated income tax w/ a “flat tax.” They implemented private school voucher program. And now they’re struggling with a $1.5 billion deficit.
In OK, we’ve done vouchers & there’s talk of pushing a flat tax.
Let’s not become Arizona.
I hope people in KS realize the
#ksleg
is trying so desperately to destroy public education for so many reasons, but the largest likely being that they don't want to give
@GovLauraKelly
a win. Remember how she bragged during her re-election campaign about fully funding ed? 1/
Don’t give up on Kansas. People here are loyal, and kind. It really kinda is funny, that saying, “there’s no place like home”. We get tired of it, because we hear it far too much. But the people living here add plenty of truth to the sentiment. 13/13
“Value Them Both”
What a joke. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to sit back and relax. Come 2023, Kansas Republicans will continue to attempt to chip away at abortion rights.
Not on my watch, and hopefully, not on yours, either 🤷♀️
For the record, I went to Shawnee Mission North High School, and I am extremely proud to have done so. People move to Kansas because of the reputation of our public schools. Our state is doomed if lawmakers muck them up. SB 83 is disrespectful to Kansans.
#ksleg
#ksed
GOP leadership in Kansas believes that Medicaid SHOULDN’T be expanded in Kansas, even though KS is one of ten states left to adopt Medicaid Expansion: “they should just get a job”.
Newsflash: many folks who would benefit from Medicaid Expansion already DO work, sometimes 2 jobs.
Meanwhile in Johnson County, KS… (statistics as of June 30, 2022, and compared to November, 2021)
✨ 5,473 new registered voters
✨ Democrats gained 1,508 voters
✨ Unaffiliated gained 4,055 voters
✨ Republicans lost 239 voters
✨ Libertarians gained 149 voters
Just a reminder: Gov. Kelly wouldn’t have vetoed that plan if it were TRULY just about axing the food tax. Instead, it was a sneaky plan the KS GOP put up that tried to tie the disastrous
#FlatTax
to the proposal.
Try telling the whole truth next time.
🤔 🤔 🤔 Just a reminder: today Kansan's food sales tax COULD HAVE BEEN 0% but Governor Kelly vetoed that plan that would have: Helped Senior Citizens on Social Security, Zeroed the Food Sales Tax, and given a tax break to ALL KANSANS!
@wibw
@kmbc
@KSNTNews
#ksleg
Kansas voted to be a free state. Kansas is the home of the landmark Brown V. Board of Education ruling. Kansas elected the first female mayor in America. Kansas is the home of John Brown. Kansas pushed back against Sam Brownback and the failed tax experiment. 9/13
BREAKING: Federal court BLOCKS Kansas voter suppression law that prohibited organizations from sending personalized mail-in ballot applications to voters. Voting rights groups argued that the law violated the U.S. Constitution and limited their work.
Welcome to 2024. I’ve got a message for my fellow Gen Z’ers: don’t let the Presidential election let you forget where most of the change is made: in our state legislatures. In Kansas in 2024, the entire
#ksleg
is up for re-election, all 125 House reps and all 40 Senators. (1/3)
@iamjannana
Hey… if you go piss in the parking lot, technically, that’d be gender neutral too! And also, when you get arrested for public indecency/urination, I think a prison cell probably ALSO has a gender neutral toilet! So many opportunities for you to hold it 😃
In his rebuttal to
@GovLauraKelly
’s speech 2nite, KS House Speaker Dan Hawkins claims that in 2023, the GOP “led the charge” to fully fund special education in K-12 schools.
If that’s the case, why do Republicans keep voting against funding? Something’s not right…
#ksleg
#ksed
It’s infuriating to me that Rep. Robinson couldn’t be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community today.
He should resign so that an ally can take his spot. I don’t understand why he voted the way he voted AGAINST a Gov. IN HIS OWN PARTY.
This will be hard for me to forgive.
#ksleg
Today is
#TransDayofVisibility
. As your governor, I will continue to stand up for all Kansans to protect your rights and call out any behavior that aims to discriminate and divide.
It’s because Kansans are GOOD people. We support each other. We come together when it really matters, and we help others in their time of need. There are a lot of folks that vote for Republicans who no longer represent their values, sure. However, Kansas also knows better. 12/13
Kansas also pushed back against Kris Kobach and his extremist views, electing our Democratic Governor, Laura Kelly (5 of our past 10 governors have been Dems). We voted against Trump and extremism in congress, and sent Sharice Davids, a lesbian, Native, woman to DC. 10/13
Biden wants to replace lead pipes. He failed to mention that the unfunded mandate sets an almost impossible timeline, will cost billions, infringe on the rights of the States and their residents – all for benefits that may be entirely speculative.
#sotu
And finally, most recently, Kansas sent a shockwave through America when we voted NO on a constitutional amendment that would strip away our citizens rights to make our own medical decisions. And my dad supported all that, too. 11/13
In Kansas, we have a saying- Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. These big banks & credit card companies have gotten hoggish on the backs of hard-working Americans. It’s past time to rein in this duopoly.
My dad knows this, despite the fact that he doesn’t quite want to say it out loud. He voted “no”. He voted for Biden. He votes for Kansas Democratic candidates for the
#ksleg
. (And, shocker, he voted for me when I ran!) 7/13
It’s funny the amount of heartless gun-loving freaks that said that *I* was the one trying to turn this into a political issue or that I wasn’t really crying.
I was at the f*cking parade. I could have been shot, too. I am traumatized. SHUT THE F*CK UP.
#kansascityparade
#chiefs
I am sobbing. Can we not just have like one nice thing??? Why does Kansas City (or America) have to be this place where we can’t go anywhere or do anything fun or nice without worrying about being shot? Luckily I am safe, left before it happened.
#KansasCityChiefs
#unionstation
Connell will be removed from all his committee positions and be pretty much stripped of what little power he had. He is a right-wing member of the Board who has constantly come under scrutiny for his behavior.
#ksed
#ksleg
Watching a conference committee in the
#ksleg
where lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would allow religious exemptions to not require ANY vaccines. COVID, Flu… polio, meningitis, diptheria, measles… should I continue? These lawmakers just do not give a fk about kids.
I am so relieved the
#ksleg
is (for the most part) done for the year. At every twist and turn this year it seems like they’ve tried to do things that harm the people of Kansas.
In Kansas, we believe in science. We believe women are born women. We will never waiver in our fight to stand up for biological women in sports and never accept men competing in women's sports.
And for the record, we drink Coors.
If
#ksleg
GOP Rep. Brenda Landwehr (Chair of the House committee where two anti-LGBTQ+ are being heard today) wants to stop hearing people say she has “blood on her hands”, maybe she should stop supporting bills that would cause her to have blood on her hands.
#ksleg
Things NOT sent to the Gov’s desk:
-Legalization of marijuana
-Adequate funding for public schools, especially for special ed
-Medicaid Expansion
-A bipartisan tax cut bill that passed the House unanimously
-Literally anything else that will help Kansans and not harm them
#ksleg
Things recently sent by
#ksleg
to to
@GovLauraKelly
:
- age verification for websites with 25% "prurient" content
- gender-affirming care ban
- ban on rules on sale or use of vehicles based on energy type (i.e. no gas motor bans, but also no electric bans)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Dear Kansas House Health and Human Services Committee Char Rep. Brenda Landwehr:
THIS is why people were telling you and your fellow committee members that you will have “blood on your hands”.
If you don’t want blood on your hands, don’t pass bloody laws.
#ksleg
Kansans- instead of focusing on passing legislation designed to HELP YOU, the
#ksleg
decided their time would be better-spent attacking and erasing harmless LGBTQ+ people. People who have done absolutely wrong (apart from, apparently, trying to exist).
NOW: Both chambers of the
#ksleg
have now successfully overridden
@GovLauraKelly
's veto of SB180- the so-called "Women's Bill of Rights". It will become law. Here's what the bill does (Thread) 1/
BREAKING: The
#ksleg
Special Education and Related Services Funding Task Force has JUST approved a recommendation based on the KS BoE plan that would INCREASE FUNDING for SPED in KS!
This is ONLY a rec- the ksleg would still need to pass a bill for this to happen.
#ksed
#sped
In case you missed it: last night the Georgia House rejected discriminatory private school vouchers via SB 233. Considering the national headwinds, intense lobbying and Georgia Republican leadership pressure, this result is nothing short of incredible.
#GaPol
Thank you
@cindy4kansas
for standing up for a majority of Kansans who WANT to see Medicaid Expansion happen! It is clear that there are others in the legislature who want to stop it from happening despite overwhelming support.
#ksleg
I wrote this OpEd in the Kansas City Star in response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Kansas (and Missouri). Lawmakers need to stop trying to attack the rights of trans people, especially trans kids. Take a look:
#ksleg
#moleg
This week Republican Senators attempted to advance an extreme abortion ban.
I voted no because this bill would go against the will of Kansans who spoke loud and clear that they did not want politicians in their exam rooms.
Friends-
@Holland4Kansas
won his first election for commissioner of Wyandotte Co./Kansas City, KS by less than 40 votes out of thousands cast. There is PROOF that elections can rest in the matter of a handful of voters.
Kansas Senator Beverly Gossage just said Medicare Expansion is a bad idea because if low-income Kansans would “just get a job and work”, they would be able to get healthcare.
Sure. Right.
#ksleg
#expandmedicaidnow
Someone give
@JessMcMasterKC
,
@sherman_news
, and other reporters covering the Marion Co. stuff a raise or an award or SOMEthing. Please? 🥺
Regardless, world-class reporting, y’all!!
#ksleg
The room isn’t even fully pictured in this. Currently in the House committee where we’re having *ANOTHER* hearing on anti-LGBTQ+ bills. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
#ksleg
Thanks to the
#ksleg
Senate Fed and State committee, medical marijuana is dead in the legislature… again.
Kansas is one of only THREE states that hasn’t at LEAST acted on legalizing or AT LEAST decriminalizing marijuana IN ANY WAY.
I am so tired…
@jaemoyerks
90% of Kansas by land area, says F-You baby killers, to the 10% that has the slight majority of population.
Welcome to how government works, don't like it, leave the state.
She carried a bill that would destroy our amazing public schools in Kansas. I hope it helps her understand how unpopular this is. I won’t hold my breath.
#ksleg
We've all heard countless R
#ksleg
reps state that they've heard the people's voice when we voted down their abortion ban.
But listen to Rep Landwher say the quiet part out loud.
They are not going to stop pushing this until we vote them all out.
HELLO??? The state of Missouri is LITERALLY trying to ban drag. These texts are from two separate bills… THAT BOTH HAVE HEARINGS IN THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE TOMORROW. Aren’t these types of laws what started Stonewall over 50 years ago?
#lgbtq
#gay
#TransRightsAreHumanRights
🚨🚨BREAKING: Kansas legislators ON THE RECORD voting AGAINST gay marriage!
See the list of Kansas House Reps who voted NAY against gay marriage below:
#ksleg
THIS 👏 PART 👏
I’m a Christian. I’m actually a worship leader in a church in KS- I attend church twice a week. I can confidently tell you that Jesus would not have supported the hateful anti-LGBTQ stuff coming from
#ksleg
. Guess they forgot about “love one another”…
Alright, I’m done responding to the vile and hateful individuals weaponizing our religion to sanction state-sponsored discrimination against vulnerable members of our community. You. Will. Reap. What. You. Sow.
Unless you’re ready to cast the first stone, do NOT @ me.
I hope I don’t hear folks in Kansas this legislative session calling drag queens or LGBTQ+ education/equality “grooming” or “sexual wokeness” but turn around and ignore the report that came out exposing YEARS of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in our state.
#ksleg