Tipsheet

One California City Is Now a ‘Sanctuary’ for Transgenders

On Tuesday, the city council in Sacramento, California voted to make it a sanctuary city for people who think they are “transgender.”

According to multiple reports, the resolution passed on Tuesday would ensure that no city resources would be used to detain people who think they’re transgender from receiving experimental so-called “gender-affirming” care. This kind of care is outlawed for children in many states. 

“California has been a leader in protecting the rights of transgender individuals to access care, but many states across the nation are moving in the opposite direction,” Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who proposed the resolution, said in her request. “In preparation of future legislation that may criminalize those providing or seeking gender-affirming care and given the Council’s stated values of equity and inclusion, it is important for the City of Sacramento to be proactive in reiterating our commitment to transgender rights and equal protections for transgender people.”

Sacramento is the latest city in the Golden State to move forward with measures aimed at transgender people. In 2022, the city of Santa Clara, California, officially proclaimed the month of August as "Transgender History Month." Shortly after, San Francisco launched a guaranteed income program for transgender residents to receive payments each month for up to 18 months. 

According to KCRA, councilmembers passed the resolution unanimously after an hour of public comment. 

"This is the sort of thing that you hope is never necessary,"  Valenzuela, told the outlet. "You hope it never gets triggered. That there's never anyone coming to Sac who is potentially fleeing law enforcement for the sole reason of looking for health care."

“If we’re so progressive in Sacramento, why are we going against what all these European countries are doing,” a Sacramento resident, Beth Bourne, who is against the resolution, told Fox 40. “This does not make sense.”

This month, Townhall reported how England's National Health Service (NHS) announced that it would no longer prescribe puberty blockers for children. The UK government said it welcomed the “landmark decision” and that it was made in the “best interests of the child.”

Previously, the NHS issued guidance on treating children and young people with gender dysphoria, the condition where someone feels that their gender does not align with their biological sex. In the guidance, they said that physicians should be open to “exploring all developmentally appropriate options” for children who are showing signs of gender dysphoria, keeping in mind that “this may be a transient phase.”