San Francisco recognized Pride Month in a different way this year, by declaring itself a sanctuary for transgender and gender non-conforming people.
The city’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of designating the area as a sanctuary on Tuesday, making San Francisco one of the first large cities in the country to do so.
This resolution symbolically shows that people who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex and Two-Spirit are safe to receive transition care, and that health care providers are safe as well. FOX 11 in Los Angeles report.
“We’re seeing refugees coming in, not just from other countries, but from other states looking for care and refuge,” said Honey Mahogany, director of the San Francisco Transgender Initiative.
The resolution comes as liberal-run communities in Republican-leaning states across the country express concern over laws that specifically crack down on gender procedures for minors.
Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill that would criminalize adults who assist minors in undergoing sex-reassignment surgery.
In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning sex-reassignment treatments for minors, but a federal court recently ruled that key parts of the law were unconstitutional.
Other states have addressed transgender issues in other ways, such as measures to guarantee gender-based participation in sports.
San Francisco is the first major city to do so, although Sacramento and West Hollywood have also declared themselves transgender sanctuaries. The San Francisco Chronicle reported..
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in 2022 protecting gender reassignment surgery in California by blocking state officials from enforcing other states’ laws regulating gender reassignment surgery and drugs.
Proponents of such surgeries and medications say they are essential to protect the mental health of transgender children, but opponents say minors are not old enough to consent to body-altering treatments, especially those that may render them infertile.
