California to Become a Sanctuary State for Trans Texans

By Anealia Kortkamp, Editorial Intern

California often does not have a need to keep in mind the ongoing politics of other states. The Sierra Mountains and broad deserts have destined California to be geographically and culturally distinctive from its neighbors. On issues of LGBT rights, however, it seems that California will not be playing the role of the isolationist. Conservative led states have decided to curtail LGBT rights, and California in response is now drafting laws specifically to thwart this behavior from encroaching into its borders. In particular, California’s sister state Texas under a conservative-led Greg Abbott government has taken a hardline stance on trans issues. Among these stances is the idea that allocating gender-affirming care to trans children is equivalent to child abuse. Gov. Abbott has advocated that anyone providing this care, as well as the parents of the child, is liable for a crime. California has responded in kind, soundly refusing to collaborate with this vision of Texas.  

Texas is not alone, as of 2021 at least 33 states have introduced literal hundreds of bills looking to make cuts on the liberties afforded to gay and transgender individuals in those states. Some of the harshest originate in Arkansas and Florida, Arkansas allowing doctors to refuse to assist LGBT patients in any circumstance if the refusal is made on religious grounds. Florida’s big LGBT bill emphasizes a parent’s freedom to sue schools if the parent believes the teaching of gender or sexual topics was handled incorrectly. Abbott’s own bill stems from this line of thinking and rhetoric.

 Already Abbott has been challenged in this matter with a lawsuit from parents working in Texas’ Department of Family and Protective Services, or DFPS. The same DFPS is charged with the enforcement of Abbott’s order. The mother was placed on leave from the DFPS and the daughter grew worried of forced separation from her family and severance from her affirmative care. Child Protective Services probed the family with invasive questioning and made attempts at accessing their medical records solely on the ground that their transgender daughter was receiving care. All this was stated via the court’s petition for the lawsuit, which is being spearheaded by the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU and Lambda Legal.

This case carries serious repercussions for the health and well-being of transgender individuals in Texas and the Abbott order has ripples that will be felt in California. As it currently stands, should an individual under 18 come to California to receive gender-affirming care, a Texas official may still probe the case and California officials would have to release to them any information that would assist in this investigation. 

First spoken about on March 17, state senator and bill author Scott Wiener, along with co-authors and state legislators Susan Eggman and Evan Low, have put forward a bill firmly rejecting the idea of California collaborating with Texas on its recent transgender centric law. The bill goes further, however.

It “bars any out-of-state subpoena seeking health or related information about people who come to CA to receive gender-affirming care,” said Sen. Wiener in a tweet thread following his announcement of the bill.

The result of this would be blocking out any would be similar piece of legislation. In addition, it blocks out of state court judgments and arrests in cases involving gender-affirming care, putting cases regarding this at the absolute bottom of law enforcing priority. Similar laws are being put forward to provide similar refuge to those coming to California for abortion healthcare. According to Sen. Wiener, it seems that other states are also considering adopting such protections for those seeking LGBT protections. 

“I’ve gotten calls from legislators in other states hoping to take a similar approach to what we’re doing. We’re having those conversations and it’s not just about California.”

The argument of transgender people receiving healthcare and being able to participate in society is being used as a wedge issue by conservative politicians to rally their base as elections sit less than a year away. Oftentimes the scope of who is being targeted by these laws is comically small. In Utah, for example, a bill banning trans students from playing women’s sports would have affected one student in the entire state. On the grounds that the cost and liability was not worth it, Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed it, only to be overridden. Sen. Wiener, a member of the LGBT community, had this to say on the wave of these laws.

“It’s political opportunism in the extreme. These are right-wing republican politicians who either want to be president or go to congress or be governor. They are trying to springboard their careers off the backs of children. It’s pure political opportunism.”

The senator’s bill currently enjoys high support from his colleagues and when introduced will likely pass. There is a renewed fight against LGBT rights across the country, in the halls of legislatures, in courtrooms and in schools but California as a state is acting as a counterweight to this behavior. 

“I came of age in the ’80s when we had rampant homophobia,” he said about his experiences and why this fight is so crucial. “Few states had any protections for gay people and trans people weren’t even on the radar. It was a really difficult time. Then for several decades we made progress. Civil rights laws were adopted and now it seems there is this right-wing backlash that is spreading to more and more states. It started a decade ago and really accelerated last year. It’s tragic and these laws increasingly target LGBT kids. The kids have so many obstacles as is and now they are getting these toxic messages from political leaders, that they have no worth, that they are faking it. Is it any wonder why these kids have a heightened risk for suicide, for homelessness? It’s a terrible tragedy but for me it re-energizes me.” Concluding the interview, the senator said this on how far he was willing to go to continue this fight: “As far as we need to go to protect LGBT people, we have a responsibility to be a refuge to people fleeing oppression.”