San Francisco mayor raises transgender flag at city hall for Transgender History Month
Members and supporters of San Francisco's transgender community joined Mayor London Breed and state Sen. Scott Wiener to kick off the third annual Transgender History Month by raising the transgender flag over City Hall on Thursday.
In 2021, Breed declared the month of August as Transgender History Month, making San Francisco the first city in the nation to do so. She also established an Office of Transgender Initiatives and the world's first transgender district in the Tenderloin neighborhood, making San Francisco a sanctuary for gender non-conforming people.
After the pink-and-blue transgender flag was raised, city officials and LGBTQ+ community leaders gave speeches discussing the importance of Transgender History Month and San Francisco's position as a leading force for LGBTQ+ rights.
"I appreciate how unique San Francisco is because of how this community has uplifted the movement around trans-rights in this country," Breed said. "You make San Francisco a model for the rest of the country to follow."
Wiener, D-San Francisco, is well known for his advocacy of LGBTQ+ rights. Last year, he helped in the effort to designate August as Transgender History Month statewide.
In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that prohibits school districts from requiring school officials to notify parents if their child comes out as transgender or gay. Wiener was a firm supporter of the bill.
"We passed and the governor signed into law legislation to ban forced outing policies," Wiener said, followed by a roar of applause. "We don't allow school districts in California to force teachers to out these kids to their parents."
The recent expansion of local and state advocacy to enhance protections for members of the transgender community comes at a time where trans rights are under threat across the country, Wiener said.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, 510 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in the U.S. in 2023. So far in 2024, there have been 527 bills introduced in state legislatures that the ACLU says target LGBTQ+ rights. Most of the bills this year have been defeated while 44 have passed into law.
Honey Mahogany, a transgender woman and director of the city's Office of Transgender Initiatives, highlighted the discrimination faced by transgender youth who "have become the victims of bullying by the bizarre, obsessive and insecure weirdos on the right."
While the rest of the country has seen a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and prejudice especially against gender non-conforming people, San Francisco is seen as a haven for them. The official recognition of Transgender History Month by the city is one step in the broader pursuit of raising awareness on the LGBTQ+ community's struggle to attain equal rights and protections.
"San Francisco is where we will be safe," said Gael Lala-Chavez, executive director of Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, one of the largest and oldest LGBTQ+ youth-serving organizations in the country. "San Francisco is where we will be affirmed, San Francisco's where we can finally live our true selves, be in community and be loved absolutely."
