Two Lawrence High School students organized a protest Sunday in response to Kansas House Bill 2171, which would prevent public school transgender students from using locker rooms and bathrooms of the gender they associate with.
State Representative John Whitmer (R- Wichita) introduced the bill in late January, saying the proposal could help protect students.
Aside from the bathroom and locker room guidelines, the bill would also apply to overnight accommodations during traveling for public school trips.
Beaux Sartin, a 16-year-old transgender Lawrence High School sophomore, is one of the main organizers for the weekend protest.
Sartin told 41 Action News that as soon as she heard about the bill, she became concerned.
"It's angering. I don't understand why," she said. "To exclude transpeople as whole is just wrong. It's unfair."
House Bill 2171 reads that if a public school student wants more privacy and gets special written permission from a parent or guardian, they may gain access to "alternative facilities."
However, the student would not be able to use a facility belonging to the opposite gender on their birth certificate if "the opposite sex are present or could be present."
Sartin said the bill goes too far and could directly impact her if it gets approved.
"It scares me because if this bill gets passed, I'll never be fully recognized as what I want to be in this state," she explained. "(Transgender students) just want to go in there, use the bathroom, and get out like any other person."
In response to the bill, Sartin and one of her friends started organizing a protest weeks ago.
The march and protest was held at South Park in Lawrence Sunday evening.
Sartin hopes it sends a message.
"We hope that we bring more awareness to the community, and more awareness to the adults and those who are legally able to address it in court," she said.
Calls and an email from 41 Action News to Whitmer were not returned as of Thursday night.
Additional information on House Bill 2171 can be found here.
------
Tom Dempsey can be reached at Tom.Dempsey@KSHB.com.
