In the US, San Francisco has been declared as a sanctuary city for transgender and gender non-conforming people. Introduced by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, the resolution was unanimously supported by the board of supervisors.
The resolution is mostly symbolic, but it indicates that:
- those identifying as transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex and two-spirit are safe in the city;
- that they may seek transitioning health care in the city; and
- that providers of gender-affirming healthcare are safe in the city.
“We just want to send out a little beacon in this Pride Month to folks in those places that there are people here that care about you, who see you and will support you if you make your way here,” Mandelman stated.
With this, San Francisco is now the third California city to make this declaration; earlier, West Hollywood and Sacramento passed a similar declaration.
The resolution goes into effect immediately.