Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) isn’t having much luck with his extremist legal attacks on the trans community and their medical care teams. Time after time, Paxton has been stymied by judges and state or local legislators.
Sacramento, California’s capital city, has joined the list of states and municipalities specifically barring local authorities from participating in Paxton’s crusade against a vulnerable community. The city council passed a resolution declaring itself a “sanctuary city” for transgender people.
PFLAG was forced to sue to stop the Texas Attorney General’s petty retaliation.
Paxton has repeatedly abused his position to persecute trans people, their families, and health providers. The far-right politician has exceeded his authority in vicious attempts to force out-of-state companies and universities to hand over private information using legal threats and bullying behavior.
The attorney general recently attempted to force the group to out trans families, their health care providers, and insurance companies in a brazen attempt to get revenge for previous rulings against him during another legal battle.
While Texas law bans trans young people from receiving gender-affirming care in Texas, it does not prevent families from seeking care in other states. Paxton’s office has repeatedly demanded that medical providers turn over information about Texans and former residents seeking care in other states.
“This resolution was supported by a myriad of organizations and was unanimously approved by my colleagues. This resolution was written and directly informed by transgender community leaders. It was put forward in recognition of the rise in laws across our country seeking to limit or completely restrict access to gender-affirming care,” Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who introduced the resolution, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“By affirming our commitment to supporting our LGBTQ+ community and ensuring that no city resources or staff time will be used to help enforce these harmful laws in other jurisdictions, the City has taken a step beyond state law and sent a powerful signal to everyone in our community that we are a safe place for everyone.”
State lawmakers passed a similar law earlier this year that forbids health officials from complying with any subpoenas seeking private medical information, requires out-of-state judgments that would remove trans kids from their parents’ custody to be rejected by the court system, and makes enforcement of out-of-state warrants the least priority.
Saramento’s policy extends those prohibitions to city officials and medical providers.
Tonight, as we recognize Transgender Week of Visibility in the City of Sacramento, I was honored to introduce a resolution to declare Sacramento a Sanctuary City for Transgender People in partnership with DSA Sacramento. This resolution was supported by a myriad of organizations… pic.twitter.com/1yqkayjhGy
— Councilmember Katie Valenzuela (@CMKValenzuela) March 27, 2024
