Editor:
Recently, several Eureka residents approached the city council requesting Eureka consider becoming a Trans Sanctuary City. The individuals came out of fear of being transgender in today’s America, but why is this?
Certainly, Donald Trump plays a part. Immediately in office, he placed an executive order that mandated there no longer be federal recognition of individuals as transgender, and it included restricting federal funding for youth gender affirming care. It required that the term “gender” be eliminated in federal documents such as passports and be replaced instead by the word “sex” defined as the biological sex at conception.
Subsequently, the Defense Department declared trans individuals ineligible for military service. This led to the forced separation of trans members with some very limited exceptions.
According to the website translegislation.com, in 2025, a total of 1,000-plus bills attacking trans rights have been introduced across federal and state governments excepting Vermont. Of these, 124 have passed so far.
Many of the actions, including Trump’s executive orders, have been appealed in court with some being temporarily blocked. For example, two lower courts ruled against the implementation of the new passport sex designation, but recently this was reversed on appeal by the US Supreme Court, letting Trump’s desired change stand.
With so much anti-trans governmental activity, it’s understandable why the city council received this request. If the council adopts the Trans Sanctuary City designation, it will help provide some needed relief for the local trans population whose rights are so widely under siege today.
Sherman Schapiro, Eureka
This article appears in The Stopwatch.