City council to consider making Sacramento sanctuary city for transgender people
SACRAMENTO — A resolution is being considered by the city council Tuesday to make Sacramento a transgender sanctuary city.
Advocates and supporters of the resolution say it will protect people who may come to the city from other states where gender-affirming care is banned.
Councilmember for District Four, Katie Valenzuela, is proposing the resolution and said it's in response to a growing number of states limiting access or banning gender-affirming care altogether.
"Similar to how we've declared ourselves a sanctuary city for immigrants and asylum seekers, we are directing city staff not to spend time complying with enforcement actions from other states," Valenzuela said. "This is really oriented towards other jurisdiction cities and states outside of California, who are currently, or have already taken steps to restrict gender-affirming care."
Advocacy groups cite the more than 20 states with bans on gender-affirming care for the need to send a strong message of support and solidarity to those in the LGBTQ+ community. Despite California being a sanctuary state, Valenzuela said this will apply to all city officials directing them not to comply with investigations on the local level if someone seeks care from out of state.
"So, we are taking proactive steps to ensure that the City of Sacramento is clear to our staff about complying with law enforcement officials and other jurisdictions that we do not want that to happen," Valenzuela said.
It would be one of the first major cities to take this step of becoming a sanctuary city for transgender people. Valenzuela said the language of the resolution and the idea to pass it came from LGBTQ+ constituents and advocacy groups.
The topic of transgender rights has become a nationwide debate. In response to critics who do not want to make access to gender-affirming care easier, Valenzuela answered that this is a matter of making it easier for someone to make that personal choice and protect their rights.
"To ensure that everybody has access to safe and effective health care, and gender-affirming care is healthcare," Valenzuela said.
A full text of the resolution outlines the city's commitment to be an inclusive and equitable city. Valenzuela said it's important to pass the resolution this week during Transgender Week of Visibility.
It's unclear if the mayor will vote to pass the resolution but he fast-tracked the process to put it before a full city council, bypassing a committee vote.
Tuesday's Sacramento City Council meeting will begin at 5 p.m.