Worcester, Massachusetts’ city council voted 9-2 on Tuesday to declare their city an official sanctuary city for transgender and “gender diverse” people, in an apparent rebuff to President Donald Trump’s executive actions “restoring biological truth to the federal government.”
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“The City of Worcester as a sanctuary city will not cooperate with Federal and State on policies aimed to harm transgender and gender diverse people and ensure transgender and gender diverse people have access to healthcare, housing, education, and employment without fear or discrimination,” said the resolution approved by the council.
The resolution, submitted by Allie Cislo, a local LGBTQ and pro-Palestine activist, was the culmination of weeks of controversy sparked by the non-binary identifying City Councillor Thu Nguyen announcing that she would be taking a month of leave after she was allegedly misgendered by other councillors, one of whom allegedly referred to her as “it.”
The resolution ultimately passed after hours of testimony from other activists, featuring shouting, swearing, an apparent threat against the city council, and a seven-year-old child testifying in favor of a resolution that would protect transgender surgeries for minors.
“If you say that you’re afraid of Trump, and that’s why you don’t want the city to be a safe space for trans people, you better prepare for trans people to make this a very unsafe space,” said activist Dewey Cosgrove Atiennza.
Atienza, a female identifying as a transgender man, appeared before the council dressed in drag, lists her pronouns on LinkedIn as he/they or él/elle en castellano, and claims to be an autistic, disabled gay man.
Another advocate for the sanctuary policy urged the council not to forget Black History Month because “we all know that we exist, and we all need to be recognized for our existence.”
Another member of the public, Dr. Rita Mookerjee, an assistant professor at Worcester State University, invited the council to her queer studies class but warned them, “When you come, know that there are strong queer and trans people in my classroom who will collect you with the quickness.” Mookerjee issued her invitation while wearing grapes on her head.
Activists continued to testify for hours before the councillors were given an opportunity to make their own statements on the resolution.
While most of the councillors supported the bill, one of the opponents, Councillor Morris Bergman, stood up to express his concerns about the bill, fearing that it prioritizes a vocal minority of activists over the interests of a majority of Worcester residents.
“There are two sides that have to be heard out, one is the 200,000 plus other people in the city of Worcester that we run into 18 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Councillor Bergman.
Bergman, enduring shouts from the LGBT activists in attendance calling him a fascist, and interruptions from Councillor Nguyen, expressed concern that the new sanctuary policy could put the city at risk of losing federal funding due to President Trump’s executive orders.
Since taking office last month, Trump has issued multiple orders condemning gender ideology that says a man can become a woman or a child can decide on his own gender and undergo surgeries to appear more like the opposite sex.
One of these orders, aimed at protecting children from indoctrination, denies federal funding to schools that promote gender ideology, while another instructs federal agencies to ensure that their funding in no way goes to support the ideology.
Bergman pointed out that Worcester’s City Solicitor was unable to confirm that the city would not be financially damaged by the decision to become a transgender sanctuary.
“The current Executive Orders related to gender-affirming care are of first impression,
meaning there is no historical precedence for them as there is for immigration, and there have been no decisions or guidance issued from any challenges,” said Solicitor Alexandra Kalkounis in a statement provided to the council.
Bergman further argued that the policy could put Worcester unnecessarily at risk of reprisals from the federal government because it provides no new protections not already afforded to transgender-identifying people by state law.
Despite the uncertain consequences of the decision, only Bergman and Councillor Donna Colorio voted against it.