‘God made trans people’: Billboard campaign offers support to trans Kansans

Mayday Health plans to reach 1.2 million drivers with billboards placed in the Kansas City area, Topeka and Wichita for the next four weeks. (Submitted by Liv Raisner)

TOPEKA — A New York City-based nonprofit has launched a billboard campaign to support trans Kansans with information about how to access gender-affirming care.

Mayday Health plans to reach 1.2 million people over the course of four weeks with three billboards in the Kansas City area, three in Topeka and one in Wichita. The signs read “God made trans people” and include a link to the nonprofit’s website.

“We thought it was important to put these billboards up as the Kansas Legislature increasingly targets the constitutional rights of trans Kansans,” said Liv Raisner, executive director of Mayday Health, which focuses on reproductive health education. “So we want to express our support and our solidarity and make sure people know that gender-affirming health services are still accessible.”

The Legislature last year banned gender-affirming care for juveniles. This year, the Legislature criminalized bathroom use for trans people and banned changes in gender markers on driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

“Trans people deserve the same freedoms as all Americans,” Raisner said. “They belong everywhere from the halls of government to the bathrooms that align with their identities, and when governments target folks and violate their fundamental rights, Mayday responds, and that’s why we went up with this billboard campaign.”

The gender-affirming care section of the Mayday.Health website lists medical, mental health, financial aid, crisis hotlines and transportation resources.

Raisner said the nonprofit is focused on getting the message out to trans people, but “if folks with fundamental religious views happen to glance over at these billboards because they see a cross sign, then great. We’re glad that they know that people support trans Kansans.”