Erin Reed1d ago
1. Throughout history, leaders have committed acts of civil disobedience to challenge unjust laws. Add Samantha Boucher to that list. Boucher walked into the Kansas Statehouse bathroom in front of police, deliberately violating one of the most extreme anti-trans law in the country.

Transgender Woman Defies Kansa...
Transgender Woman Defies Kansas's Extreme Bathroom Ban In Act Of Civil Disobedience At State Capitol

"I am very sorry that you and others have been put in this situation," Gov. Kelly said.

Erin In The Morning
Show threadErin Reed1d ago
2. The police showed her the way. Governor Laura Kelly, who Boucher encountered along the way, accepted a gracious thanks from Boucher. Kelly had tried to veto the bathroom ban bill that Boucher was now defying, but she was overridden by a heavily conservative state legislature.
Show threadErin Reed1d ago
3. “I think this would be extremely dangerous for a Kansan to do, but ... I’m more than happy to put myself at that risk if it means that somebody else doesn’t have to, because eventually someone would try this,” Boucher told the Topeka Capital-Journal.

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Show threadErin Reed1d ago
4. Boucher’s modest protest transpired as the state crackdowns on trans people escalated: banning them from using bathrooms in public buildings that don’t match their sex assigned at birth, instituting a “bounty” to incentivize snitching on trans people who use the “wrong” restroom.
Show threadErin Reed1d ago
5. “I commend her for calling attention to state-sanctioned discrimination and for her bravery in challenging those who support such discrimination to put their votes into action,” Rep. Abi Boatman of Kansas’ 86th district in Wichita, told Erin in the Morning.
Show threadErin Reed1d ago
6. Transgender and cisgender people alike have been caught up in the anti-trans panic—people have been harassed and filmed in the bathroom, accosted by police or security guards, physically assaulted, and arrested after using the restroom, even in states with no such “bathroom ban” on the books.

Trans Man Detained After Using...
Trans Man Detained After Using Women’s Restroom in South Carolina

Anti-trans lawmakers want to force trans men to use the women's restroom. Here’s what happened when one did.

Show threadErin Reed
7. “In regard to SB 244, I will use the restroom 3 times, triggering a misdemeanor,” Boucher said. “I appreciate your veto.”
Apr 2 at 5:59pmWeb
Show threadErin Reed1d ago
8. Boucher was the first openly trans federal campaign manager, as per her social media. In 2019, she oversaw Democratic candidate Kimberly Graham’s Senate campaign in Iowa ahead of the June primaries. She is the founder and executive director of Trans Liberty, a trans equality PAC.
Show threadErin Reed1d ago
9. “What I hope to have accomplished here, and in whatever I become embroiled in as a result, is making sure that the nation doesn’t forget that this is happening here,” Boucher said as per local press reports. “This is unprecedented, and it cannot be allowed to stand.”
Show threadErin Reed1d ago
10. Lastly, EITM is an award-winning media outlet covering LGBTQ+ news every day. You can subscribe to support our journalism at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe. You can follow our writer for this piece, S. Baum, at @[email protected].

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