This post is a text-only version of a slideshow we posted on Facebook and Instagram. We will provide another update soon that goes more in-depth into the federal and state politics once the events of the current week come to an end.

A lot has transpired over the last week. The nonstop barrage against trans people at a state and federal level has been exhausting.

If you are unaware, yesterday the Kansas Senate abused their emergency powers to pass SB 63 to the House, where they are currently about to vote on it. This is unprecedented and anti-democratic.

Some things to keep in mind in this moment:

• The Senate and House Committees intentionally announced SB 63 and HB 2071 on Wednesday and Thursday and scheduled the hearings for the following Tuesday to limit your ability to push back.
• The Senate intentionally pushed through SB 63 as quickly as they did because they know this is unwanted by Kansans and want to move as silently as possible.
• Despite their flagrant disrespect for Kansans, we managed to submit 392 pages worth of testimony for HB 2071 alone.
• For HB 2071, the proponents submitted 67 pages of testimony. Most of this came from multi-million dollar right-wing organizations with spokespersons who have never lived in Kansas.
• The Senate still has not posted the testimony for SB 63. This is firstly a violation of their rules – the Senators must read testimony before voting on it. Regardless, the chances of the opposition overwhelming the proponents of this bill are extremely likely.

Things we must takeaway from this:

• Cis service workers in Kansans overwhelmingly support trans youth. We encourage cis service workers to stay true to their ethics at all costs.
• All the Republican Senators voted for SB 63 – and Democrat David Haley. Haley represents District 4 in Kansas City. You can contact him at David.Haley@senate.ks.gov or 785-296-7376.
• Kansas Senators took an emergency action to oppress trans youth and adult service workers despite the intense opposition. They did not address real issues facing Kansans, like the continued closure of rural hospitals, the increasing shortage of teachers and healthcare providers, the widespread, bipartisan support for Medicaid expansion, or the water crisis in Western Kansas.
• And, perhaps most importantly: they are scared of us. We mobilized so well that they are resorting to undemocratic tactics to silence us.

Do not give up hope. We will win.

What Comes Next:

• SB 63 & HB 2071: The House will likely pass SB 63. HB 2071 will sit dormant unless something happens to SB 63. Hopefully, Governor Kelly will allow the bill to sit at her desk until April and then veto it. The legislature will have the ability to override the veto in the last week of April. This gives us three months to create a coalition of trans and cis people across the state. This coalition will, of course, try to stop this from becoming law. If it does become law, this coalition will continue resisting it.
• New bills: This week, Senator Erickson introduced SB 76 and SB 78. SB 76 would ban school employees from using a student’s chosen name and pronouns. SB 78 would force all school districts to adhere to legislative policy. This is a direct attack on school districts like USD 501, which specifically has policies in place to protect trans students. Currently, neither SB 76 nor SB 78 have hearings scheduled. We will keep you posted.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY: next week, there will be a hearing on HCR 5008, a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would essentially establish a dictatorship of Republicans by stripping the executive branch of any ability to set policies outside of the legislature. This is unconstitutional. The good news: we can stop it.

Stay tuned for a post we will make shortly with more information about HCR 5008 and how you can stop it.

We know that it is exhausting. But they are trying to wear us out. They know that we are powerful — that is why they are circumventing us as best as they can.

It’s not fair and we will suffer. But we know that popular support is on our side, even if politics doesn’t reflect that. We must continue building coalitions with cis people to fight against corrupt politicians who do not care about their constituents. We will win.