Gop-led States Are Emboldened To Keep Rolling Back Trans Rights. Democrats Struggle With A Response

Republicans and Democrats in Kansas agree that concerns about the economy drove voters to support President Donald Trump by a 16 margin.

They also know that ads from Trump and others targeting transgender rights resonated with voters. So while Kansas Republicans say property tax cuts are their top priority, they also are pushing to ban gender-affirming care for young people, including puberty blockers, hormones and, even though they are rare for minors, surgeries. They say that, too, resonates strongly with voters.

"It carries so much more emotional weight," said Republican state Rep. Ron Bryce, a doctor from southeastern Kansas. "We're talking about children and our future."

As lawmakers have gone into session in many states, Republicans are broadly emboldened by GOP electoral successes to continue pushing state-level bills to curtail transgender rights.

As was the case in 2023 and 2024, dozens of bills are pending in mostly red-state legislatures aimed at issues such as which bathroom transgender people can use in public buildings, whether transgender people can use their gender identity on their driver's licenses and whether transgender girls can play on girls sports teams. In Texas alone, Republicans have filed more than 30 measures.