I Claim Sanctuary! (I Think)
Published 3/27/2025 at 1:40 PM
Written by Ezra Komo
Ezra (he/they) is a nonbinary transman, USMC veteran, and artist. As a co-founder of MJT he writes, draws, and advocates to protect his community and remind them they’re never alone. He believes safety isn’t granted — it’s built. Born and raised in small-town central Missouri, he’s fighting for a Kansas City where queer people don’t just survive — we lead. He’s committed to building real connections between queers, allies, and everyone who makes up the KC community.
I remember waking up November 6, 2024 and feeling utter hopelessness. I remember being livid. Then, the grief hit harder as messages came in telling me of friends who lost to suicide as a direct result of the election — a pain many of us share from November.
It wasn’t until I got onto the Trevor Project’s site that the full reality hit. The Trevor Project is the go to for most queer people in crisis and on November 7th they released two staggering statistics in this update:
The Trevor Project experienced a 700% increase in volume compared to the weeks leading up the election, and
Trans and nonbinary youth living in states with actively transphobic state laws have had a spike in suicide attempts by 72%
Like many of us, I celebrated when I read the news in May 2023 that Kansas City had become a Sanctuary City for trans people. As a transman and new KC resident I was relieved — proud even — to move from red, small-town central Missouri into the big blue KC metro where I thought I’d be completely protected. That was the hope I had since our city officials had signed Resolution No. 230385, aka: the Sanctuary City Resolution.
But what I didn’t know then — and have uncovered since made me question everything about this process and our role in making our city safe from the state.
Saving Face or Misinformed?
When I first read this ordinance I was expecting to see a list of protections for us — because "sanctuary city” carries the weight of that promise: sanctuary. A safe haven. Safety. A city where me and my trans community can live and exist like everyone else.
So imagine my surprise when what I read seemed more of a gesture than a guarantee. Reading the actual resolution was a classic “expectations vs. reality” experience.
My expectations?
Employment protections.
Land lord-tenant protections.
City-led education initiatives.
Concrete safeguards for gender-affirming care.
Resources for trans people facing discrimination.
Our reality?
An encouragement to the police force and narrow protections from persecution of receiving gender-affirming care. So, the resolution hits exactly one out of the long list of needs for our safety.
Here’s what I mean, taking from Section 2 no. 2:
“In the event any law or regulation is passed in the State of Missouri which imposes criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties, or professional sanctions, on an individual or organization for providing, seeking, receiving, or assisting another individual who is seeking or receiving gender-affirming healthcare, City personnel shall make enforcement of said law or regulation their lowest priority.”
Read that last line again. Lowest priority.
Not “shall not comply.”
Not “city personnel are prohibited from cooperating.”
Just…“lowest priority.”
This haphazard and weak language shows up again in Section 2 no. 6:
“That the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department is hereby encouraged to adopt a similar Gender-Affirming Healthcare Policy.”
Encouraged, not required. Not enforced. Not even incentivized.
Let’s be real: it doesn’t matter what city you’re in — police departments only change when there are rewards or consequences being enforced. So “encouraging” KCPD to adopt their own policy is like asking, “Hey, maybe, could you think about possibly considering this?” It’s worthless.
Why? Because KCPD already has a full plate. And asking the Board of Police Commissioners to take the time to adopt and draft their own policy — without reward, deadline, or accountability — isn’t going anywhere.
What’s worse is soft language like this doesn’t protect us. While KC does have a wonderful and fair hate crime policy that includes both sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes, what do we do if the hate crime involves our landlord and we need an officer? Or more relative: what if there’s an executive order to extract and detain us?
In that regard, KC offers no real protection.
In truth though, this resolution is a stepping stone as it protects trans people seeking and receive gender-affirming care. And that does matter. But past that? Nothing.
It’s tempting to blame all the headlines that misled the masses into thinking this resolution was all encompassing. But really — it’s on all of us. We heard good news and we celebrated it and we shared it. We didn’t stop to check it, and by the time we did we realized how we truly need protection.
Given our country’s reality, we can’t do this. We can’t afford this kind of wishful thinking. Not once. Not ever again.
We must act and we must make sure our community truly has sanctuary. If we want true security — real sanctuary — we have to build it and demand it ourselves.
Seeking Real Answers
Before I started just bashing around demanding more protections from people I don’t know, I had to understand the repercussions the city faced after passing this resolution two years ago.
These are very turbulent times and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the political needs differ between rural Missouri and the Kansas City Metro. It didn’t take long before I stumbled across a very weird letter from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to Mark Tolbert, President of KC’s Board of Police Commissioners in 2023.
I say “weird” because, this letter cherry-picks vague phrases from various sources about gender-affirming care for youth — without ever acknowledging what gender-affirming care actually is. Notably, the resolution makes absolutely no mention of queer youth. Not once.
Read it for yourself, but in this three page letter Bailey claims:
“…accepting the City Council’s solicitation would be both dangerous and unlawful.”
His core argument is that this ordinance is harmful for kids because he truly believes gender-affirming care is dangerous for kids. Even though Resolution No. 230385 does not mention “youth,” “minor,” or “children,” he goes full academic-mode — citing sources and framing the resolution as an attack on child safety.
Now, I will commend Bailey for using scholarly sources rather than presenting an opinion rant. But what he completely fails to acknowledge is that gender-affirming care for pre-pubescent individuals is non-medical. It’s social transitioning:
Talking to a therapist.
Having parents who use chosen names and pronouns
Experimenting with fashion.
Not hormones. Not surgery. Not medical.
Yet, Missouri’s Attorney General chose to write a three page legal threat where he damns our City Council on for endorsing care for a demographic not mentioned in the resolution. And his final punch?
“I will take any legal action necessary against the City to ensure our state laws are enforced.”
Translation: if KCPD resists transphobic action by the state, the state will come after Kansas City.
Well, that’s infuriating.
So, after learning this I took the next steps any concerned citizen should: I reached out to the people who represent us. For all things queer that would be KC’s LGBTQIA+ Liaison Jared Horman. Before I go any further, let me just say I greatly appreciate his honesty. He could have redirected me or sugarcoated, and I’m thankful that he didn’t. Jared very quickly and empathetically responded to my question.
I asked directly:
“With everything going on federally I just want to double check what protections are in place for me and my community. When I looked into it, it sounds like the resolution only protects against arrests when we seek gender-affirming care but not much else. What else is included in this resolution?”
He very honestly answered:
“To be honest, I don't know what it's going to mean. It's a moving conversation. As are many things in the government world right now…What I do know, and want to make sure you know, is that our City Manager, Brian Platt, and our Mayor, Quinton Lucas, are both going to do everything in their power to support our trans community here in KC…There are numerous other ways they've shown up, and I know they will continue to do so.”
He then asked me: “What are you hoping the city or this ordinance protects or does?”
And that question took me over a week to answer. Because I didn’t want to answer it alone. I needed to ask us.
What Trans Residents Actually Want
Before diving into what Kansas City trans residents actually want, I’ll be honest — getting answers wasn’t easy.
I started with a simple Google form and posted it in online trans community groups and waited. And waited.
And the response?
Nothing.
Which made me wonder: How can we expect the City to help us build a true sanctuary if we won’t even answer one of our own?
That’s a riddle to solve.
So I pivoted. Instead of waiting for the community to come to me, I went directly to people I talk with every day. Friends, collaborators, chosen family. My immediate circle includes bout 18 trans people — not including acquaintances. Among them are transmen, transwomen, trans nonbinary people, white folks, and people of color. What follows are the most common and urgent responses from these conversations:
1. Livelihood Security:
“I shouldn’t be fired or evicted for being trans.”
That was the baseline expectation. But many of us can't afford a lawyer if we are, and with no protection we’re on our own. So, we need city-backed resources to ensure protection when our gender identity is used against us— in housing, at work, or when using public services.
2. Solidarity Against Hateful Legislation:
We know the City can’t block federal task forces or magically nullify national laws. But we do need a clear commitment:
Affirmation that KCPD won't cooperate with radical, transphobic legislation.
Reassurance that the City will protect, not prosecute, trans people and those who care for us.
If the state comes for us, the City will stand with us.
3. City-Led Education:
The majority of Kansas City isn’t queer. That means our officials, city employees (i.e. bus drivers), employers, healthcare providers need real education — not just sensitivity training checkboxes. Plus, it can be intimidating asking a marginalized community how to help them, but we do expect our officials to be able to find a common ground with us.
Possible courses that were suggested:
Host community-led panels or workshops 1-2 times a year.
Require trans-inclusivity training for city staff, medical offices, and business owners.
Include trans voices in conversations that affect us.
Why? Outside of dedicated gender clinics, medical and dental offices are notorious for deadnaming, misgendering us, and having a medical bias based on orientation. Even though our correct names and pronouns are on our forms, that fear of being outed to a waiting room full of strangers? It keeps us from seeking care.
We shouldn’t fear being outed or our healthcare being affected by medical bias.
And we shouldn’t have to fear that in a sanctuary city.
If educators and speakers are difficult to find, me and four other trans resident offered up services to educate. The City needs to hear our voices.
4. Youth Protections:
As someone who knew I was trans long before puberty, I can tell you: trans and gender-diverse youth needs and deserve explicit protection.
If Kansas City wants to call itself a sanctuary city it has to start with our kids. Their educators must be competent in trans youth safety.
Teachers need to have a Trans Care course so they can successfully and empathetically:
Be safe spaces for kids who have queerphobic parents
Proper use of names and pronouns — how to handle slip-ups with care.
Conflict resolution between a trans student and transphobic student
5. Family Protections:
No family should be separated because one or both parents are trans. And no trans child should be removed from a loving home just for being themselves.
This should be obvious. These are basic rights — or at least, they should be. And while it may seem like common sense, there are states that have taken these rights away from our trans siblings.
From my trans siblings.
Each of these builds on the foundation of Resolution No. 230385. But they are not extras.
They are the expectation when we hear the words “Sanctuary City.”
Playing Chess With The State
If we want Kansas City to be a true sanctuary, we have to make it safe for the city to stand with us.
That means:
Lifting pressure from the state.
Showing city officials that we have their backs when they have ours.
Being loud, informed, and visible in the state capital.
What I’ve learned from this is that Kansas City’s City Council and Mayor Lucas genuinely do have good intentions and truly want to help our community — but they’re constantly playing chess with state legislators who threaten the whole of the city.
Protections and human rights for any demographic should never be used as a political weapon.
The reality is, state leadership is needlessly creating a difficult scenario: Does KC sacrifice the needs of many, for the needs of a few?
Any experienced leader knows that won’t go over well for anyone. The many will get pushed aside. The few will get blamed. Everyone feels the state’s backlash. Then city officials get called incompetent for trying to protect all of us.
So, let’s strategize.
It’s not our local officials failing us — it’s at our state leadership.
Missouri’s General Assembly has such a hold on Kansas City that if we want true safety and we want to claim sanctuary, then our state legislators need to hear from us.
We have to make them listen.
I honestly believe — whole heartedly — that Kansas City wants to be a true sanctuary city. We have to be smart. We have to be informed. We have to be united — not just in protest, but in policy.
This isn’t just about one ordinance. It’s about our right to exist without fear — and about giving Kansas City the power to defend us without risking everything.
That means:
Contacting our state reps.
Organizing in our own communities.
Applying pressure where it actually counts.
We have to get our state lawmakers to stop threatening our city for trying to keep us safe.
Help our City Council help us. Don’t let Missouri legislators threaten the whole city for daring to protect trans lives. Our KC leaders want to help us. And we deserve real protection.
We have to make sure they can give us that without getting buried in backlash.
If Nothing Else, Do This
We have to be smart and strategic with this. We’re lucky to live in a city with leaders who are open-minded. Let’s give them the support they need and pressure that the state needs to feel.
Let’s hit hard and fast before the end of April:
Attend the town hall on April 5th:
Our Spot KC (2810 E 80th Street, KCMO) at 3 PM.
We need to show our numbers. At this town hall I’ll be sharing this post and plugging people into the next steps.
Contact our Missouri State Representatives and Senators.
At our town hall we’ll have info on tips and advice for doing this including a sample message and contact info.
Share this post.
Help others understand what Resolution No. 230385 actually says — and what we need it to say.
We need to show up if we expect change.
Show up for each other. For our city.
For the sanctuary we all deserve.