Republican State Senator Merv Riepe, often the deciding vote in the chamber, pledged to oppose this year's anti-trans legislation in Nebraska. He delivered.
This is great news! ❤️🫂 I'm sure we're back in the wringer next season but for now we can breathe a little easier. I'm sico and tired of these people repeatedly trying to force their bigotry through the government.
Republicans wanted to ban universities from promoting... heteronormativity? I feel like that would backfire on the republicans if the universities took that literally :D
It's so rare for me to see positive coverage of my home state. And here I am about to send a letter to this republican representative for standing up to the bullies and genitalia-obsessed people in his party. I love that he refuses to be the "potty police," and I love that he changed his mind after talking to his trans constituents. INTEGRITY!
This is the kind of reporting that actually matters right now—the granular, state-by-state detail that gets lost in the national noise. Riepe's line about the potty patrol made me laugh out loud, and his "they have no leverage over me" is the kind of political courage that's almost startling to read in 2026.
What strikes me most is the through line your reporting keeps revealing: individual relationships change votes. Riepe opposed the bathroom bill after speaking to trans constituents. That's the whole argument in one sentence. People who know us see us differently. I write about that dynamic from the personal side over at The Transplaining Times—you're documenting it from the legislative side. Both matter enormously right now.
This is great news! ❤️🫂 I'm sure we're back in the wringer next season but for now we can breathe a little easier. I'm sico and tired of these people repeatedly trying to force their bigotry through the government.
Sometimes, it only takes one person to stand up and say: no, not with my support.
Republicans wanted to ban universities from promoting... heteronormativity? I feel like that would backfire on the republicans if the universities took that literally :D
A Republican with convictions is a rare but certainly welcome thing.
It's so rare for me to see positive coverage of my home state. And here I am about to send a letter to this republican representative for standing up to the bullies and genitalia-obsessed people in his party. I love that he refuses to be the "potty police," and I love that he changed his mind after talking to his trans constituents. INTEGRITY!
Nebraska's state motto "Equality before the Law"
This is the kind of reporting that actually matters right now—the granular, state-by-state detail that gets lost in the national noise. Riepe's line about the potty patrol made me laugh out loud, and his "they have no leverage over me" is the kind of political courage that's almost startling to read in 2026.
What strikes me most is the through line your reporting keeps revealing: individual relationships change votes. Riepe opposed the bathroom bill after speaking to trans constituents. That's the whole argument in one sentence. People who know us see us differently. I write about that dynamic from the personal side over at The Transplaining Times—you're documenting it from the legislative side. Both matter enormously right now.
Thank you for this. Following you closely.