A meeting of the Kansas GOP State Committee – Photo: Republican Party of Kansas, via Facebook.
The Kansas Republican Party has approved a resolution to “oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity.”
The party’s state committee endorsed the resolution on Saturday, while also saying the party recognizes the dignity of those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, reports The Wichita Eagle.
“God’s design for gender as determined by biological sex and not by self-perception,” the resolution states. It also notes the Kansas GOP’s opposition to efforts to surgically or hormonally alter an individual’s body to conform with “perceived gender identity.”
Eric Teetsel, the committee member that introduced the resolution and the president of the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, argued that the resolution was necessary in order to affirm certain principles that are supposed to guide the GOP.
“[U]ltimately, an ideology that says you can determine your own gender identity is broken and it’s going to lead to a lot of pain, and that’s why it’s important to bring us back to what we know to be true and good,” Teetsel told the Eagle.
The resolution was one of several approved during the state convention, including one, also proposed by Teetsel, that emphasizes the importance of “religious freedom.”
The official Republican Party platform is silent on transgender issues but does oppose same-sex marriage, saying “our children’s future is best preserved within the traditional understanding of marriage.”
Teetsel notes that his resolution on human sexuality begins by affirming the dignity of LGBTQ people, something that, he says, shows it is not motivated by animus.
“Ultimately, we are motivated by love,” he said. “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.”
But Equality Kansas vehemently disagrees with that characterization of the resolution. The organization issued a statement saying that it was “incredibly disappointed” that Kansas Republicans had promoted “such an undignified and crass assault.”
“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,” said Equality Kansas director Tom Witt.
The Kansas GOP, which historically was divided between ultra-conservatives and center-right moderates, has taken a hard-right turn in recent years on social issues, particularly under former Gov. Sam Brownback, who was confirmed last month as the State Department’s Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.
During Brownback’s tenure, either the governor or the legislature made several moves to curb LGBTQ rights, whether it was Brownback repealing an executive order prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ state employees, or the legislature passing a bill to allow on-campus organizations to turn away prospective members who are LGBTQ-identifying.
In 2016, the Kansas Senate also approved a resolution “supporting student privacy and safety” after the Obama administration issued guidance stating that transgender students should be treated according to their gender identity, including being allowed to use restrooms that match their gender identity.
Dutch authorities say Veronica Clifford-Carlos failed to prove she faces a "legitimate risk of persecution" or threat of physical harm in the United States.
A Dutch court has upheld a ruling rejecting a U.S. transgender woman's bid for asylum, finding she does not face a substantial enough threat of persecution in her home country.
Veronica Clifford-Carlos, a 28-year-old visual artist from California, said she once believed she’d build a life in the United States, but felt compelled to flee after receiving death threats over her gender identity.
Clifford-Carlos left the United States -- leaving behind friends and her dog -- and flew to the Netherlands with her father. Upon arrival, she applied for asylum, telling authorities about the abuse she endured in the United States, particularly after President Donald Trump’s re-election last fall.
A Florida man has been arrested and charged with the murder of Girlalala, a 21-year-old transgender TikTok influencer, after allegedly shooting her during what appears to have been a dispute between the couple.
Broward County Sheriff's Office deputies say 25-year-old Shanoyd Whyte Jr. shot Girlalala shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, November 14, while the two were sitting in a car on the side of the road in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.
According to Miami-based WPLG, video from a nearby Tesla shows a man believed to be Whyte getting out of the driver's side of a sedan as Girlalala tries to exit the passenger side. He appears to grab her by the hair and force her back inside before pacing outside the car with a cellphone in hand.
Lucien Bates, a transgender man, says security guards threatened to arrest him after he used the women’s restroom at a Round1 arcade inside the North Riverside Park Mall in suburban Chicago. Bates, an Indiana resident, was visiting the venue on September 28 with his fiancé and a friend to play Dance Dance Revolution.
Bates, who presents as alt-masculine with facial hair and piercings, had just arrived at the arcade when he needed to use the restroom. He chose the women’s restroom, a decision he often makes in public because he feels safer there and is less likely to be harassed.
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