With oppression mounting nationally, Tacoma should become a trans sanctuary city | Opinion

Since the Stonewall Riots of 1969, transgender and queer activists have been fighting hard to bring our communities out of the shadows.

As a young trans woman today, it’s clear how this work has benefited our generation. Especially in a blue state like Washington, we can access healthcare, exist publicly in relative safety and enjoy basic legal protections. However, we must also understand that progress isn’t permanent and that the same steps forward that have brought our communities into the light have also triggered a wave of backlash.

With Trump re-entering the White House, this has never been more apparent. His initial barrage of executive orders makes clear his intention to force us back into the closet.

Let’s be clear: transgender and queer people, like anyone else, have the absolute human right to bodily autonomy and to live in full dignity among our neighbors. With so much to overcome at the national level, the path toward securing these rights can often feel impossible. But here in Washington State, our community is fighting back.

In the coming years, local government will be an important bastion against Trump’s far-right agenda. However, this will only happen if local governments and representatives are willing to stand boldly in defense of their most vulnerable constituents. Transgender Washingtonians are well used to having no representation in the legislature, and only one openly transgender woman has ever been elected to public office, in the city of Aberdeen.

As such, we’re no strangers to the need for self-advocacy. But to get meaningful protections passed, we also need strong allies.

The Olympia City Council has exemplified these values by working with the community to pass the state’s first trans sanctuary protections. The core of this legislation includes:

• Affirming the right of trans and queer individuals to access care, self-expression and advocacy on behalf of their community.
• Prohibiting the use of municipal resources — including, but not limited to, city property or employee time while on duty — for investigating, assisting in an investigation or detaining an individual based on exercising these rights.
• Ensuring that whenever the city collects or disseminates information about an individual’s sex or gender, it does so without regard to biological sex assigned at birth. The city will not collect or share information about sex assigned at birth unless it is related to a criminal investigation of a violation of Washington State law.

In Washington, institutions like Seattle Children’s have already shamefully decided to comply in advance with Trump’s policies by denying gender-affirming healthcare to minors. By following Olympia’s example and passing trans sanctuary protections, municipalities across the state have the opportunity to chart a different course. In the fight against Trump, we must be proactive in passing legislation that matters.

This year, the Tacoma City Council and every other city across our state should take up this fight and demonstrate true allyship by passing transgender and queer sanctuary city protections.