This trans lawmaker's colleagues voted to take away her driver's license. She's still hard at work.https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/03/this-trans-lawmakers-colleagues-voted-to-take-away-her-drivers-license-shes-still-hard-at-work/ 🔗Greg Owen (19 March 2026)
In February, just 20 days into her term as a new state representative from Wichita, Abi Boatman stood up in the well of the Kansas House to express dismay.
Her colleagues were debating Senate Bill 244, a "one-stop shop of hate" in her words, that was shoved through the legislative process by Republicans without hearings. The bill would revoke the official documents of trans people, ban them from using bathrooms in public buildings that match their gender identity, and create a bounty hunter incentive for Kansans to sue transgender people that they encounter in restrooms.
She'd had enough.
"I have sat here for five and a half hours, and listened to this entire room debate my humanity, and my ability to participate in the most basic functions of society. And from the bottom of my heart, I hope that none of you have to ever sit through something like that."
The 10-year Air Force vet, 45, then asked, "As a veteran, am I revered and honored, or am I just disparaged and cast aside as a trans person?"
The clip of her speech went viral. The bill passed over a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and went into effect immediately.
Boatman spoke with LGBTQ Nation from her apartment in Topeka while the Legislature is in session...
