Trans rights has become another topic that people feel the need to politicize. People who just want to live their happiest lives have had to meet many roadblocks from others because of fearmongering and mob mentality.
The Mentor Editorial Board discussed the subject of trans rights in Kansas pertaining to the new bathroom law, the nullification of hundreds of trans IDs and the K-State lawsuit from Harlan Weaver. Last week, K-State’s professor of Gender Studies Harlan Weaver filed a $300,000 lawsuit against the college for the discrimination and retaliation on the basis of sex. On June 7, 2023, Weaver filed a complaint against co-worker Susan Rensing after a heated argument occurred during a staff meeting about the tension between the two.
Another complaint was filed previously by Weaver in March 2023 against her then-supervisor Christie Launius. After Weaver had a hysterectomy and was told by doctors to wait six to eight weeks to return to work, Launius pressured Weaver to cut that recovery time short.
The judge presiding over the case dismissed the March complaint for being more than 300 days after the incident occurred.
The first incident with the hysterectomy should still be considered, regardless of the amount of time it was filed. The reason why it was filed so late was because Weaver found out that Launius had been more lenient with his non-transgender co-workers with similar issues. A person should be able to go on leave for the allotted time the doctor prescribed, and for someone to say otherwise is a breach of employee rights.
Our Editorial Board agrees unanimously that Weaver should be compensated for the discriminatory behavior brought upon by his co-workers, but views pertaining to the bathroom law came to a 4-3 vote, resulting in the decision being that the laws Kansas has passed will harm the transgender community and that a change in policy is needed.
In another instance of prejudice against the trans community, the Kansas Legislature passed SB 244 on Jan 28, which only allows trans people to go into the bathroom of their respective gender from birth. Kansas also passed a bill stating that driver’s licenses are to only show his/her genetic gender, essentially nullifying 1,700 trans IDs.
A $1,000 fine for having an improper ID for using a bathroom seems so petty. The law was meant to prevent trans people from going into their preferred bathroom, but it could also affect non-trans people as well.
If you were to go to the bathroom, find that there is a line and decide to go into a bathroom opposite of your gender, would you think you were breaking the law? Many have probably been in a predicament like this before, but this time, the government has decided to fine you for needing to do a basic human function.
So instead of only giving people two options for a bathroom, there should be a third gender-neutral option. Establishments with single-stall bathrooms and family bathrooms will not need any significant changes because they can be used for all genders without breaching another person’s privacy. Other businesses with multi-stall bathrooms should be strongly encouraged through providing tax deductions when the bathroom is installed.
And as for the driver’s licenses, people should be allowed to put down their desired gender. Switching your ID from an M to an F isn’t some devastating event, it’s just a change in a letter. If anything, they should at least be granted a grace period of a week to get their driver’s licenses corrected. Politicians are making a mountain out of a molehill. Just let people poop and drive where they please.
