Sacramento’s Metropolis Council unanimously voted to declare town a sanctuary for transgender individuals, becoming a member of a rising variety of native governments which have adopted related measures.
California itself turned a sanctuary state in September 2022, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into legislation Senate Invoice 107, which blocks makes an attempt by different states to penalize households that come to California looking for therapy for transgender youngsters or to keep away from penalties for looking for such therapy elsewhere.
However council member Katie Valenzuela, who sponsored Sacramento’s decision, mentioned the measure will do extra to be sure that metropolis sources can’t be used to extradite transgender individuals and youth from different states who come to town looking for gender-affirming care.
“We see this as a strengthening measure,” mentioned Valenzuela. “That is extra than simply defending the individuals who reside right here. That is additionally about defending individuals who come right here from different communities to make sure that we’re not aiding legislation enforcement actions of their dwelling jurisdiction who might search to criminalize their quest for healthcare.” Metropolis officers would face unspecified “corrective motion” if discovered to be in violation of the decision, she mentioned.
“We debate the numerous points in our metropolis, however there’s no shade of grey on the subject of civil rights,” Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg mentioned previous to the vote. “And on the subject of speaking concerning the human rights of individuals, our metropolis is constant and we’re sturdy.”
Emily Smet, an organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America who helped draft the decision, mentioned the language was tailored from immigration insurance policies that cities established to restrict cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We are able to count on legal guidelines criminalizing out-of-state healthcare within the very close to future. And in Sacramento, we need to be ready for that, she mentioned.
Passing a decision is simply one of many steps Sacramento must take to make itself a haven for transgender individuals, Smet contends. By way of the socialist group’s mutual-aid efforts to deal with financial insecurity, she mentioned she’s seen a disproportionate variety of transgender individuals experiencing poverty and housing insecurity.
Eric Stanley, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Division of Gender and Ladies’s Research, was not impressed by the decision’s language, saying there was a disconnect between politicians’ advantage signaling and the experiences of transgender individuals. Stanley mentioned it’s harmful for politicians to current California as a “liberally secure area” that’s welcoming to the transgender neighborhood with out addressing these primary wants.
Stanley, who has studied the criminalization of queer and transgender communities, mentioned a part of the issue is that people arriving from different states assume that shifting to California will present them entry to gender-affirming healthcare, unaware of how pricey that care — and the whole lot else — is right here.
Dwelling in some of the costly states within the nation can exacerbate the housing discrimination that transgender individuals already face, he mentioned. “Trans persons are hyper-represented in houselessness,” mentioned Stanley.
The decision is “kind of a political stunt,” he mentioned, as a result of it assumes the individuals looking for gender-affirming care all have middle- or upper-middle-class incomes.
Regionally, nonprofits just like the Sacramento LGBTQ Group Heart are attempting to deal with the cost-of-living problem head on; they supply transitional housing for queer youth dealing with homelessness.
David Heitstuman, director of the middle, mentioned he’s excited concerning the decision cementing town’s inclusive popularity, however needs to see continued funding in primary providers like housing.
“Although we now have a progressive coverage on the books at a statutory degree, we have to guarantee that there’s extra … entry to providers, entry to care,” mentioned Heitstuman. Youthful generations of Individuals usually tend to determine as queer, and the latest numbers say 1 in 5 Gen Z adults identifies as LGBTQ.
“There’s definitely a mismatch between what the legislation says and what persons are truly experiencing on the planet, even right here in California.”
The Human Rights Marketing campaign has additionally tracked hate crimes in opposition to transgender individuals all through the nation since 2013, calling it an “epidemic” of deadly violence that disproportionately impacts transgender ladies of shade. And in accordance with the State of Delight report revealed by the California Division of Justice in 2023, hate crimes in opposition to LGBTQ+ individuals jumped 29% between 2021 and 2022.
“I feel that we want much more investments in supporting the LGBTQ neighborhood that’s disproportionately impacted by these points,” mentioned Heitstuman.
