transgender athletes

For the first time since 2018, Missouri lawmakers will work with a new governor. While outgoing Gov. Mike Parson pushed a more budget-focused agenda, Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe already has established policy goals — and a Republican supermajority to accomplish them with.

Schuyler Bailar became the first openly trans person to compete for a men's D1 team in the NCAA. He'll speak at the Kansas City Public Library on Thursday about his recent book "He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters."

After a judge last week upheld a 2023 state law banning some gender-affirming medical care for minors, Republican lawmakers signaled that they aren’t done pushing for laws restricting the rights of transgender Missourians.

A 74-page ruling backs state’s argument defending law that has blocked transgender Missourians from accessing gender-affirming health care,

With Donald Trump headed back to the White House, and Republicans cementing power in Missouri, transgender residents in Kansas City fear losing access to hormone treatments and living under an administration that campaigned on making them pariahs.

Missouri banned transgender athletes from competing according to their gender identity, but student handbooks and board policies have yet to add the change. Before last year's law, there were only five transgender athletes statewide who were eligible to compete.

In a campaign event in Ozark, Missouri, the Republican senator warned of "danger and disaster" coming from the border and pledged to ban transgender athletes from women's sports.

Kansas state Rep. Marvin Robinson got only 22% of the vote in a crowded 35th House District primary race that focused on a range of issues beyond transgender rights.

A survey of Kansas high schools and major universities failed to find an instance where someone was turned away from a sport because of the 2023 law. But it may have had a chilling effect discouraging transgender athletes from trying out in the first place.

Kris Kobach has filed a federal lawsuit against the Education Department's revised Title IX rules, which ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school and can seek action from the federal government.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which oversees some 83,000 athletes competing in more than 25 sports, is thought to be the first college sports organization to take such a step. The policy was approved in a 20-0 vote at its annual convention in Kansas City.

Missouri is one of 19 states that has banned gender-affirming care for minors. The state has proven to be ripe for laws limiting transgender rights, which are often engineered by a network of out-of-state conservative advocacy groups.