Cambridge Metropolis Council declares metropolis a ‘sanctuary’ for trans individuals
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The transfer is a response to the Trump administration’s perceived assaults on the transgender neighborhood.
The Cambridge Metropolis Council voted unanimously on Monday to declare the town a “sanctuary” for trans and nonbinary individuals.
The decision follows the Trump administration’s latest assaults on the transgender neighborhood, together with an order defining intercourse as solely male or feminine, barring transgender feminine athletes from competing in girls’s sports activities, and banning transgender troops from serving.
Different efforts included rolling again anti-discrimination protections, limiting entry to gender-affirming healthcare, and undermining the dignity and security of transgender individuals in public areas nationwide, the Cambridge decision states.
The orders trickling down from Washington D.C. concern Mayor Denise Simmons, who grew to become the primary Black, brazenly lesbian mayor within the nation in 2008.
“As somebody who’s out loud and proud, I do too fear,” Simmons mentioned in the course of the council assembly.
She mentioned that discrimination continues to happen, even in Cambridge, which individuals usually see as a “secure haven.”
“It’s at all times in all probability been right here,” Simmons mentioned. However, “it’s been unbridled, launched.”
“If we have been silent it in all probability wouldn’t defend us,” Simmons continued. “We have to rise up. We’ve at all times stood up and never solely to be an instance however a beacon for different communities. Tonight we’re amplifying that voice.”
Vice Mayor Marc McGovern, who launched the decision to the council, mentioned that in instances like these, some say it’s best to fly beneath the radar to keep away from undesirable consideration.
“I believe the alternative,” McGovern mentioned. “We have to stand as much as that bullying and assist people to really feel extra snug and secure on this neighborhood.”
Because the mid-Eighties, Cambridge has been designated as a sanctuary metropolis. The decision builds upon the town’s dedication to be a sanctuary metropolis not just for immigrants, but additionally for marginalized communities, together with transgender and nonbinary individuals.
The decision states that the town is not going to cooperate with federal or state insurance policies geared toward harming transgender and gender various individuals, and can take steps to ensure these individuals have entry to healthcare, housing, schooling, and employment with out the concern of discrimination.
As well as, no metropolis assets will likely be utilized to cooperate with or present info on a person to an out-of-state company or division concerning an individual’s gender-affirming healthcare carried out within the state.
Metropolis Councilor Patricia Nolan famous that everybody within the room in all probability has family members affected by these actions.
“The concern that has been engendered during the last six weeks is fairly horrifying,” Nolan mentioned.
Even in a neighborhood like Cambridge, Nolan mentioned, educating individuals about this problem is crucial.
“We’ll do what we will figuring out we’re a bubble of welcome-in-ness,” she added.
Councilor Ayesha Wilson agreed.
“We live in such a hateful time, the place people for no matter cause are keen to discriminate and say probably the most hurtful issues to individuals who could not appear to be them,” Wilson mentioned. “That isn’t the Cambridge means. We needs to be doing higher. We now have that duty to mannequin that throughout our metropolis.”
Throughout the public remark part, Evan MacKay, a Cambridge resident draped in a transgender flag, took to the ground, advocating for housing rights for this marginalized neighborhood.
“Tonight we’ll hopefully add trans and nonbinary individuals to the sanctuary coverage,” MacKay mentioned. “Tomorrow and endlessly all of us can do our greatest to indicate up for trans and nonbinary individuals as our buddies, our household and our neighbors.”
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