California capital to vote on 'sanctuary city' status for transgender people

Sacramento City Council members are poised to vote on a resolution Tuesday evening that would declare it a sanctuary city for transgender people – including minors. The legislation has received the stamp of approval from a major Democrat-Socialist organization. 

Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, a Democrat, spearheaded the resolution, which would protect medical professionals who perform gender transition surgeries on children from any "attempts to impose criminal punishment," including civil liabilities or subjugation to out-of-state laws that restrict such procedures. 

"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," the resolution states. "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 by declaring ourselves a sanctuary city and a place of safety for transgender people."

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The council will vote on the resolution Tuesday at 5 p.m. PST after a special presentation declaring this week "transgender week of visibility." 

The Democratic Socialists of America – Sacramento chapter endorsed the resolution last week in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 

The council's resolution comes two years after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom passed a law declaring the Golden State a sanctuary state for transgender children, also preventing criminalization of medical professionals who carry out gender transition surgeries or providing hormone treatments to minors.

Maine's legislature is currently considering a bill that would declare it a sanctuary state for transgender surgical procedures and abortions. 

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Conservative states have begun ramping up laws restricting both surgical and nonsurgical transgender procedures for minors. States such as Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida have made it a felony to perform surgical procedures, such as sex changes, on minors or provide them with any gender-transition drugs. 

Several more liberal states have created "shield laws" that protect these procedures and gender-transition drugs for transgender people and children. Those states include California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Illinois and Massachusetts.

And medical associations are supportive of wider access to gender-transition surgical procedures for transgender children. Earlier this month, the American Psychological Association (APA) announced a new policy urging clinics to provide "unobstructed access" to gender-transitioning treatments for children.

The American Medical Association (AMA) also states on its website that "improving access to gender-affirming care is an important means of improving health outcomes for the transgender population."