- The state’s capital city is the first in the nation to support legislation following the regulations introduced by councilmember Katie Valenzuela.
- At least 23 states have prohibited or restricted gender-affirming treatment.
By Germania Rodriguez Poleo For dailymail.web
As several Republican states have started banning gender-affirming care for children, Sacramento authorities have voted to become a sanctuary area for transgender people.
The state’s capital city is the first in the nation to support legislation following the regulations introduced by councilmember Katie Valenzuela, which was unanimously approved by the City Council.
Sacramento follows Ithaca, New York, which has also passed related policy.
California has been a leader in defending transgender people’s access to care, but many other states are moving in the opposite direction, according to local reports from Fox40.
It is crucial for the City of Sacramento to become proactive in reaffirming our commitment to transgender rights and equal protections for trans people in preparation for potential legislation that may penalize those providing or seeking gender-affirming care, given the Council’s stated values of equity and inclusion.
The group Moms for Liberty, which opposes allowing gender-affirming care for children, protested the bills outside City Hall on Tuesday.
Sacramento resident Beth Bourne told Fox40: “If we’re so democratic in Sacramento, why are we going against what all these Western countries are doing… This does not make sense.”
Bourne referred to the growing number of European nations that have stopped providing gender-affirming therapies and hormones to children after allowing them for years.
Protesters carried signs that read “don’t let your body be your piggy banks” and “gender hospitals harm children.”
However, trans rights activist Sabrina Naves reported to CBS News that people have been moving to Sacramento from various states that have restricted access to care for kids with gender dysphoria.
The bill, which became law immediately, prohibits city employees from using any resources to enforce laws from different states against transgender equality.
At least 23 states in the nation have either prohibited or restricted gender-affirming care.
But, following numerous delays and little backlash, the Biden administration’s plan to ban such outright bans is scheduled to be finalized this season. According to the proposed rule, the rule may identify that universal bans would be in violation of Title IX, the internationally recognized gender-equity law passed in 1972.
Most states that are opposed to enacting gender-affirming care have already done so, according to LGBTQ+ advocates, who anticipate them to expand those restrictions to include adults. Transgender students and their families are concerned about being targeted by legislators using them as a wedge issue because legislatures in the majority of states are up for election this season.
House Republicans in Ohio voted in January to override Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of legislation that would outlaw all kinds of gender-affirming care for minors. This quarter, the Senate is expected to follow suit.
DeWine vetoed a bill that would prohibit the occasional use of gender transition surgeries before the age of 18 despite his veto. Additionally, he proposed regulations mandating a care team for both children and adults that critics fear would severely limit access for all patients.
Supporters of the restrictions claim they want to protect children and are concerned about the treatments themselves. Major health organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose the restrictions and support treatment, claiming that proper management and oversight make it safe.
A Florida law from last year that made it nearly impossible for some transgender adults in the state to obtain gender-affirming care was included in the restrictions last year. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has cited that restriction as one of his achievements.
