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Opinion: The toll of ‘soft fascism’: What’s happening in Kansas should alarm us all.

The law enacted in Kansas in February is one of the most restrictive pieces of anti-trans legislation passed in any state so far. The repercussions are devastating, the implications foreboding.

Siobhán Kirchstein, who transitioned in 2023, at a queer pool night at the Harbour Lights bar in Lawrence, Kan., in July 2026. (Anne Vetter/The New York Times) — NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY GESSEN COLUMN BY M. GESSEN FOR AUG. 13, 2026. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED. —

Siobhán Kirchstein, who transitioned in 2023, at a queer pool night at the Harbour Lights bar in Lawrence, Kan., in July 2026. (Anne Vetter/The New York Times) — NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY GESSEN COLUMN BY M. GESSEN FOR AUG. 13, 2026. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED. —

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By M. Gessen | The New York Times