Sacramento is scheduled to be the subject of a quality that would designate it a” sanctuary area” for trans people on Tuesday. Council associates in California’s capital city are scheduled to consider it. The plan will become presented at the agency’s 5 p. m. conference this night, somewhat after Mayor Darrell Steinberg recognizes International Transgender Week of Visibility.
Katie Valenzuela, a member of the District 4 Council’s original delegation, told Newsweek that the resolution is “modeled after related sanctuary city policy we passed to protect refugees and asylum seekers.” It aims to protect trans rights and stop the use of city resources, including law enforcement, to prosecute those seeking gender-affirming care.
A growing number of claims are adopting laws that restrict exposure to gender-affirming treatment, particularly for minors. According to the volunteer health policy research centre, KFF, previously The Kaiser Family Foundation, as of January 2024, 23 states have laws or policies that limit minors ‘ access to sex- affirming care. There has been a five-fold increase in state with exorbitant measures over the past two decades. KFF projections that 38 percent of transgender youth reside in state with stringent laws.
According to Valenzuela,” we are starting to see more people coming to our neighborhood looking for gender-affirming care,” Valenzuela added, adding that my LGBTQ+ constituents were “directly informing me” about this policy.
According to Valenzuela, the solution was purposefully scheduled for March 31 as the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
It is crucial for the City of Sacramento to become proactive in reaffirming our responsibility to transgender rights and equal protections for trans people by declaring ourselves a sanctuary area and a place of safety for trans people in advance of potential legislation that perhaps prosecute those providing or seeking gender-affirming care, according to the proposal.
According to Valenzuela, the resolution was inspired by a piece of legislation from Ithaca, New York, that was passed. If approved, Sacramento would join the growing list of sanctuary cities for transgender people, a group that includes Ithaca, Pittsburgh and Kansas City, among others. Since 2022, California has been declared a sanctuary state for transgender individuals.
Some opponents view laws or regulations that restrict gender-affirming care for minors as an attack on the LGBTQ+ community as well as the transgender community as a whole. For some, they say the moves are an attempt to roll back gay rights legislation, such as same- sex marriage.
Public opinion, however, remains divided on the issue.
A Washington Post-KFF poll conducted in May 2023 that included 1, 338 adults, found that 68 percent of adults oppose the use of puberty-blockers for children between the ages of 10 and 14 and that 58 percent of adults oppose the use of hormone treatments for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 in particular. According to the same poll, the majority of Americans disapproved of teachers talking about transgender identity with students before high school. Specifically, 77 percent of respondents believed it is wrong up to third grade, 70 percent deemed it inappropriate up to fifth grade and 52 percent opposed it in middle school.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is dedicated to challenging conventional wisdom and establishing connections in search of common ground.
Newsweek is dedicated to challenging conventional wisdom and establishing connections in search of common ground.
