Gov. Laura Kelly and Joe Cheray

Joe Cheray has been an advocate for social justice issues, a strong supporter of candidates, and a candidate for the Kansas State Legislature. Her emphasis in speaking with us will be on the experiences of people who have been abused as children and the legislative effort that led to victory with the recent passage of S Sub for HB 2127. This bill removes the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution related to allegations of childhood abuse and extends the timeline to file lawsuits.

We celebrate this new law that took effect July 1, 2023! We are especially pleased she will share additional details that will inform and inspire our continuing advocacy as individuals and as Sedgwick County Democratic Women.

Joe is a caregiver to her son Anthony Tankersley and is herself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Her abuser was her maternal grandfather.

Earlier this year Joe and other survivors united to work on getting the historic statute of limitations legislation passed and signed into law. This legislation passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by Governor Kelly in April.

“This bill would not be possible without the tireless work of survivors across the state who fought for their voices to be heard. I thank them for their bravery,” Kelly said Monday in a statement.

Joe is the chair of the Kansas Democratic Disability Caucus, communications secretary for the Kansas Federation of Democratic Women, communications secretary for Capital Area Democratic Women, and serves as co-chair of the ADA council with the city of Topeka.

These two links lead to articles with more information:

Information about the S Sub for HB 2127 bill/law: https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2127/
Article from The Reflector with some great information about the bill and the legislative effort: https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/17/gov-laura-kelly-signs-sexual-abuse-reform-bill-adopted-unanimously-by-house-senate/
We hope you will join us on Thursday, July 13, for our monthly membership meeting at the SEIU building, 3340 W. Douglas, in Wichita, Kansas. Check-in begins at 6 p.m. with the program starting at 6:30. A short business meeting follows.