NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton City Council officially accepted a resolution that makes Northampton a sanctuary city for transgender and gender diverse people during its Oct. 1 regular meeting.
Presented by Ward 7 City Councilor Rachel Maiore and Ward 2 City Councilor Deb Klemer during the Sept. 19 council meeting, the resolution would declare Northampton a place of safety for transgender and gender diverse people through a multitude of ways.
“I was just thrilled when Councilor Maiore approached me with this and to be part of it,” Klemer said, during that first meeting. “I think it’s so important for our community, for the people here and to feel safe and included.”
The resolution beseeches the city to never use city resources or city property to detain people who are seeking or providing gender-affirming care, including gender affirmation surgery or gender hormone therapy.
Maiore and Klemer’s resolution also states that the city should include policy that prevents the use of city of resources to provide information to any individual, department or out-of-state agency “regarding the provision of lawful gender-affirming healthcare or gender-affirming mental healthcare performed in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
The resolution comes at a time where there are currently 652 anti-trans bills in 2024 that seek to block transgender and gender diverse people from accepting basic healthcare, education, legal recognition and the right to legally exist; the most on record.
Nearly half of these bills, according to the resolution, specifically target transgender youth and their families.
“The timing of this is not lost on us with the elections right around the corner,” Maiore said. “And I think we need to do all we can, and we need to really speak very proactively to our community, and let them know that we’ve heard you, we see you, and we will do everything we can to protect your basic rights, and to be a welcoming place for you and your family.”
Maiore and Klemer’s resolution received overwhelming support from the trans population who attended the Sept. 19 meeting, as well as from other councilors who spoke.
Scotia Macgillivray, a Northampton resident who presented a template of a transgender healthcare resolution to Maiore this past summer, emphasized the extra layer of protection that the resolution would provide to transgender and gender diverse people.
“Certain political entities are hell-bent on taking away this nascent health care rights that trans people and gender-nonconforming people have,” said Macgillivray, who frequently assesses transgender and gender diverse people as a registered nurse who works in psychiatric emergency medicine. “This resolution, while non-binding, will assist the layer of health care protection for commonwealth gender-nonconforming people.”
Mariel Addis, a resident who transitioned from male to female in 2016, recalled the time period when the Trump administration was about to take office.
“Word on the street for trans folks was, get your paperwork done, driver’s licenses, passports, birth certificates and whatnot,” Addis said. “I’m very concerned about the status of trans people in this country. And as such, I support this resolution for the sanctuary city for transgender or gender diverse people.”
Ward 6 City Councilor Marianne LaBarge also showed appreciation for the resolution, stating that she wants everyone who enters Northampton to feel safe and protected.
“I want to make sure that everybody living in this city … will be protected and safe,” LaBarge said. “I’m taking it by heart,” because there’s people that I know in this city that are uncomfortable.”
In her remarks, Klemer shared how she felt when she came out as gay in the 1980s.
“When I first came out in the early 80s, the first thing I was told was, nobody needs to know, don’t tell anybody, and, you know, it’s a lousy way to live,” Klemer said. “I think we should all be able to come out and be who we are, and not have to hide.”
