Five Mass. cities designated as `sanctuaries,’ for transgender population
In March, Cambridge, Pittsfield and Boston became the latest communities to designate themselves as “sanctuary cities,” for transgender people, following in the path of Northampton and Worcester.
The Cambridge resolution cites the Trump administration’s recent order defining sex as only male or female, barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports and banning transgender troops in the military.
Juliette McClendon, Ph.D., co-owner of Triad Psychotherapy, PC in Boston, believes designating communities as safe for LGBTQ+ is “absolutely necessary at this time…When people who hold these identities are clearly under attack, a sanctuary designation is the least that communities can do,” she said.
McClendon, a Black, queer, non-binary, and neurodivergent therapist, said that LGBTQ+ people who live in and near these communities are aware of these votes.
In Worcester, backlash to the designation included accusations that transgender people at the city council meetings were “attention seeking,” and trying to be treated as special and different from everyone else.
“Transgender people want equal rights. That is all,” McClendon said, when asked to respond to that criticism.
She added that “special attention,” is required to support trans people because “there is special attention being paid to strip away their rights. So yeah, it may require some specific attention to make sure we protect our trans communities.”
In published reports, Cambridge’s Vice Mayor Marc McGovern, who introduced the resolution to the city council, said that in times like these, some say it is best to fly under the radar to avoid unwanted attention.
“I think the opposite,” McGovern said. “We need to stand up to that bullying and help folks to feel more comfortable and safe in this community.”
Cambridge has been designated as a sanctuary city since the mid-1980s. The recently-approved resolution rebuilds upon the city’s commitment not only to immigrants, but also for other communities like transgender and nonbinary people.
The resolution states that the city will not cooperate with federal or state policies aimed at harming transgender and gender diverse people, and will take steps to ensure those people have access to healthcare, housing, education, and employment without the fear of discrimination.
City Counselor Patricia Nolan was quoted as saying, ““We will do what we can, knowing we are a bubble of welcome-in-ness.”
McClendon said the Trump administration’s actions have led to concerns and especially increases in anxiety for the clients she treats.
“The way that LGBTQ+ people are spoken about and the way we are being systematically stripped of rights is extremely anxiety-provoking and also traumatic,” she said. “People feel like they have no control over what might happen to their medical care, their families, their lives as they know it.”
In Pittsfield, which passed a similar resolution, resident Gwen Morgan said, “I don’t walk down public roads at night because I’m a woman but I fear being out after dark at all because I’m a trans woman.”
In addition to the Massachusetts locations, other “sanctuary” cities for transgender people have been declared in Kansas City, Missouri and San Francisco, Sacramento, and West Hollywood, California.