Sacramento is a sanctuary for trans people. Why it’s more than a symbolic gesture | Opinion

I walked toward the Legislative Plaza in Nashville, Tennessee as activists both allied with the transgender community and those fervently against it formed a huddle at the steps of the plaza. Chants from both sides — of “trans lives matter” and “end child mutilation” — filled the space.

The blue, pink and white-striped trans flags that waved in the air were accompanied by signs that said “knives off teens” and “keep kids first.”

That was the scene at the “Rally to End Child Mutilation,” the brainchild of ultra-conservative Daily Wire correspondent Matt Walsh. You might’ve caught his documentary “What Is a Woman?” which does nothing to answer the question but a lot to create hate and division.

“This is the center of America’s culture war,” I thought to myself as I watched speaker after speaker spread hatred against a group of people for simply being themselves. The event featured speakers including Tennessee lawmakers State Sen. Majority leader Jack Johnson, Majority Leader William Lamberth and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn.

The plaza where the event took place is located directly across the street from the Tennessee state capitol, where the GOP majority has focused critical legislation that attacks the ability for transgender people to get the care they need.

In 2021, Tennessee’s legislature passed a law prohibiting physicians from prescribing hormonal treatment to minors. They banned transgender athletes from playing in girls high school and middle school sports. They also required businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people use multi-person bathrooms, locker rooms or changing rooms.

The latest anti-trans bill currently being taken up in Tennessee that would allow a person with openly anti-LGBTQ views to be a foster parent to a person who identifies as a member of the queer community.

Needless to say, Tennessee has been on the offensive with laws targeting trans people — the most in the nation, in fact.

But there’s another side to this issue that is leading with compassion.

Another side

Given my experience in Tennessee, you could imagine the culture shock I will receive living in Sacramento — a city located in a state that, in 2022, made a law that legally protects transgender youth and their parents if they were to move to California to leave states that restrict gender-affirming care.

On Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution to distinguish the city as a sanctuary for transgender people. A similar resolution was approved by the council in 2017 for immigrants.

The resolution’s sponsor, District 4 Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, doesn’t see the resolution as a symbolic gesture, but, instead, as a very real commitment to a group that has been targeted by hateful legislation.

Valenzuela calls the resolution “another step in supporting the trans community, with more steps needed to address other community issues like housing and tenant rights.”

During the council meeting’s public comment period, community members spoke about the importance of this resolution.

“As a trans person, I’ve watched with increasing concern as year after year states across the nation introduce increasingly restrictive laws targeting transgender life,” said Emily Smet, a member of the Sacramento chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. “What started as bathroom bills and sports bans, has escalated to full bans on medical treatment for transgender youth and adults, and even the criminalization of the doctors that assist them.”

The debate on trans lives has shown us the ugliest side of our society. But with this resolution, Sacramento has made a bold statement: That whoever needs refuge from hatred of any kind can call our city home.

When Tennessee creates bills that restrict a trans person’s ability to express themselves and get the care they need, making a safe space shouldn’t be described as a symbolic gesture but genuinely the best way forward.

The only way forward

Inside America’s culture war, the trans rights battle puts real people in danger of being victims. This can be fatal for a developed society, especially when considering that our foundation was built on freedom for all people.

As a soon-to-be new resident of progressive California, my belief that trans people deserve to be treated equally didn’t come to me from a classroom in some liberal university or a social media post. It came from meeting real trans people in America’s conservative South, hearing their stories and welcoming their experiences.

Whether you’re in the liberal bastion or the conservative Bible Belt, the only way forward is to show empathy to trans people and learn about their experience.

Knowledge is power. In the case of the thousands of trans people, it means safety.