On April 27, 2025, the Kansas and Douglas County Democrats held a rally in Lawrence. For nearly an hour and a half, they spoke fervently about the state of Kansas politics. The Kansas Democrats are real Kansans who support unionization, public education, Medicaid expansion, access to abortion, and veterans. They decry the recent ICE crackdowns, partisan judge elections, Kansas Republicans’ attempt to re-implement Brownback-era taxes, and Trump’s sweeping executive orders that have ended crucial funding and overstepped his power as President.

Suspiciously absent from this passionate display was any mention of trans people.

The Kansas Democrats spoke against the astonishing number of vetoes that the Kansas Republicans were able to override this year… but did not mention that the very first override – and the very first law this year – ended gender-affirming care for minors and made it illegal for any healthcare provider or state employee to even talk about being trans with youth. Doing so would leave them vulnerable to lawsuits for “promoting” transitioning.

The Kansas Democrats mentioned a number of executive orders from Trump… but did not mention any of the five anti-trans executive orders that Trump passed within his first three weeks as president.

The Kansas Democrats passionately defended the right to abortion, a right that the Kansas Republicans frequently attack… but did not mention the 34 anti-trans bills introduced in the last 5 years. Eight of these bills have become law, including three from this year (SB 63; HB 2311; SB 125).

The Kansas Democrats defended the right to public education… but did not mention how Kansas Republicans introduced multiple anti-trans bills (SB 63 and SB 76) that punish school employees that support trans students and encourage the bullying of trans students.

The Kansas Democrats lauded the importance of protecting the marginalized from discrimination… but did not mention that the right of trans people to even exist is increasingly under attack. The federal and state governments have both legally defined us out of existence and jeopardized our ability to access gender-affirming care. In states like Florida, Utah, and South Dakota, trans people can be sued or criminally charged for using a bathroom or changing room that aligns with our gender identity.

The Kansas Democrats upheld American patriotism and inclusion… but did not mention how elected officials all over the country have made it clear that trans people do not belong and should be eradicated from public life, nor that this has historically been the case for the United States as a country built upon the enslavement of Africans and the genocide of Native Americans and as a country that continues to murder tens of thousands across the globe in unnecessary military actions.

Let us not mince words: the United States has always been a deeply reactionary country. Since January, we have watched Donald Trump make concerning attempts at concentrating further power for the far-right. Among all the reactionary tendencies we are witnessing, however, the anti-trans impulse is one of the most vehemently fascist. On the same day of the rally, CNN found that the majority of Americans (51%) approve of Donald Trump’s actions regarding only one issue: trans rights.

The failure of the Kansas Democrats to make a single reference to the ongoing assault on trans people is a disturbing one. At best, it reveals that the attack on our rights is not a serious issue to the Democratic Party; at worst, it is reflective of a refusal to stand in defense of a minority against tyranny.

While the Kansas Democrats have been active in their attempts to stop anti-trans bills, we need to see a commitment that is reflected outside of committee meetings and chamber votes. If the Democrats are our only viable political defense against the Republicans who have demonstrated an intense disgust and hatred of trans people, then this display guarantees their absolute inability not just to expand our rights, but to protect us in any sense.

Kansans deserve better than this. As the political leaders of the so-called progressive tendency, the Kansas Democrats should be far more proactive in acknowledging the crisis facing trans rights and how essential it is to the rights of all people. For example, SB 63, which formally bans any state funding for gender-affirming care for minors, was passed alongside HB 2240, which bans any agency from expanding services covered by Medicaid without explicit approval from the Kansas legislature. Both of these bills limit the ability of Kansans to access necessary health care and increases their risk of physical and psychiatric distress and even death. Furthermore, the denial of Medicaid dollars to one service – gender-affirming care, in this case – easily sets the stage for the denial of Medicaid dollars to all services, as we have seen with Trump withholding all federal funding to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors.

Kansans need a political party that is truly dedicated to the liberation of all people – not hollow words and performative celebrations about a country that has rarely, if ever, served the interests of anyone but the ruling class. This requires an explicit and unapologetic inclusion of trans people and our needs.

To the Kansas Democrats: end your silence on trans people.