These Queer Lawmakers Will Not Be Silenced

LeAnne Withrow of Springfield, Illinois is a lead military and family readiness specialist and civilian employee for the Illinois National Guard. Previously, she served as a staff sergeant for the National Guard and is the recipient of multiple commendations and awards, including the Illinois National Guard Abraham Lincoln Medal of Freedom.   Following a January 20, 2025 executive order signed by President Trump, officials with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the federal National Guard Bureau issued notices to all employees requiring use of designated restrooms strictly based upon their “biological sex,” as inaccurately defined in the executive order. Soon after, Withrow was told by supervisors within her chain of command that she could not use restrooms designated for women.   On May 5, Ms. Withrow filed a class action complaint to the Army National Guard Bureau Equal Opportunity Office (NGB-EO), and later to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), challenging the federal order, but both the NGB-EO and EEOC failed to resolve the matter.   In November 2025, Withrow filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the executive order and implementation actions violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, and that the order and implementation violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. The complaint was filed on behalf of Ms. Withrow by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of D.C., the ACLU of Illinois, and Democracy Forward.   “No one should have to choose between their career in service and their own dignity,” said Withrow. “I bring respect and honor to the work I do to support military families, and I hope the court will restore dignity to transgender people like me who serve this country every day.”

Lawrence, K.S. - A judge for the District Court of Douglas County rejected a request for a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of SB 244, a Kansas state law that immediately invalidated the driver’s licenses of transgender people across the state and which authorizes anyone to sue anybody they suspect of being transgender for using the “wrong” restroom in government buildings. “This is a devastating, but hopefully temporary, setback for our clients and transgender people across the state of Kansas,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The harm of this law has already had sweeping impacts on the lives of transgender people like our clients, threatening their ability to hold a job, go to school, or go about their daily lives. We all deserve the freedom to be ourselves without politicians interfering in our lives, and we will keep fighting SB 244 until it is erased from state law entirely. We look forward to demonstrating at a temporary injunction hearing that this law is unconstitutional and deeply harmful and should be enjoined.” SB 244, passed into law by the state legislature over Governor Laura Kelly’s veto, prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms that align with their gender identity on government property. It also establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000. The law also invalidates Kansas-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. Last week, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. The law also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas - from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future. Doe v. State of Kansas was filed in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous Plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech. Today’s order from the court can be found here.

Two transgender residents of Kansas filed a lawsuit in state court challenging SB 244, a state law enacted in 2026 that immediately invalidated the driver’s licenses of transgender people across the state and which authorizes anyone to sue anybody they suspect of being transgender for using the “wrong” restroom in government buildings.

Rather than advance equality and inclusion in athletics for all women and girls, politicians attack transgender athletes, and undercut what women are capable of achieving.