Anti-trans activist with national following cut from UC Davis job after layoffs
Beth Bourne, a Davis-based activist who regularly protests against the inclusion of trans girls in girls’ sports, was laid off from the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies last week.
Bourne is known for her social media presence, presence on campus and at Davis libraries and her advocacy effort for parents’ rights and gender policy. She is also the chapter chair of Yolo County Moms for Liberty and an avid supporter of President Donald Trump.
She was publicly criticized by the University last June for making offensive statements to a group of drag queens, while recognizing her speech as protected by the First Amendment. She was also the subject of a petition calling for her termination, which has garnered more than 7,500 signatures in less than a year.
University officials placed Bourne on leave for almost eight months last year while they investigated at least 12 complaints from colleagues for workplace misconduct against her, according to Bourne. She was clear to return to work in February, but less than four months later, the university sent her a layoff letter, indicating that she has her current position until the end of the month.
University officials maintain that Bourne was laid off due to a lack of federal research funding, and not due to her activism against trans rights.
The May 30 letter cited “changes to the distribution of federal research dollars” and “a decrease in contract and gift funding impacting our overall financial situation.”
UC Davis spokesperson, Bill Kisliuk, in a written statement to The Bee reiterated the university’s commitment to “ensuring that all persons may exercise their constitutionally protected rights of free expression,” although they are unable to share confidential personnel matters.
“When the university takes personnel actions, including layoffs, we provide impacted employees with appropriate notice, support and resources, consistent with university policy and state and federal law,” Kisliuk said.
Bourne shared a series of emails between herself and the university’s Director of Campus Employee Relations, Kim Maslaniak, where she inquired about criteria and considerations used for layoffs, how many other employees faced the same fate and whether or not seniority or past job performance was considered.
Maslaniak declined to answer those questions, citing privacy and confidentiality requirements regarding personnel-related information about other employees.
In a written response to The Bee, Bourne expressed that her support for the Trump administration has “soared since elections” despite the federal funding cuts, citing three executive orders relating to trans-athletes in women’s sports, gender ideology education in k-12 curricula and gender ideology recognizing only two biological sexes.
“I understand completely why the U.S. Department of Transportation doesn’t want to fund ‘woke’ research projects,” she said. “So my opinion of him and my support for Republicans has not changed.”
Across social media, there have been many reactions to the news of her layoff.
On a UC Davis Reddit post, titled “Beth Bourne has been let go,” there were many celebratory comments and almost 700 upvotes.
The original poster ended the post with “Happy Pride month everyone.” Another anonymous user commented on the irony of the reason for her layoff saying, “Almost as if she voted for it!”
On her personal account, she has received some messages of support in the post where she mentioned her layoff after 11 years as an employee in the caption.
One commenter said, “I’m sorry you’re loosing (sic) your job ... you are a true shero.”
She plans to work with her attorneys to ensure her layoff was fair.
“Of course I’m questioning it,” Bourne said in an interview with The Bee, noting her awareness of people’s dislike of her values and public stance.
She is also actively involved in another lawsuit, following a Turning Point USA event on the UC Davis campus where she was assaulted by a counter protester.
As Bourne looks ahead to the future, she will explore other job opportunities at the university and otherwise, which may become available to her through her eligibility for the university’s Sustaining Talent in Lieu of Layoffs (STILL) program.
This story was originally published June 6, 2025 at 4:45 PM.
