Worcester Declared Trans Sanctuary City

The Worcester City Council voted on Tuesday Feb. 11 to declare Worcester a Sanctuary City for Transgender and Gender Diverse people. This is a huge step forward in protecting trans people at the local level, a first and a model for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Last week, the Worcester Public School Committee had considered a resolution to protect transgender students in the school system from discrimination and harassment. The School Committee had decided to “broaden” the declaration to “all vulnerable people,” over the objection of those who wanted to specify transgender students. Later last week, when the resolution was brought to the City Council, the Council voted to restore the specificity of protecting transgender and gender diverse students.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is about the City of Worcester. So why am I sharing this on an Internet blog? Because cities and towns across the country are facing these same issues; and you could be doing something about them in your local community. You and your community can make a courageous stand against Trump and Fascism.

Worcester declares sanctuary status for transgender community

February 12, 2025|Culture, Government

City Council passes resolution by 9-2 vote despite concerns over risk of losing federal funding.

By Steve Smith 

WORCESTER — The City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night declaring Worcester a “sanctuary city” for the transgender and gender diverse community.

The vote was 9-2 with councilors Khrystian King, Kathleen Toomey, Thu Nguyen, Etel Haxhiaj, George Russell, Luis Ojeda, Jenny Pacillo, Candy Mero-Carlson and Mayor Joseph Petty voting in favor. 

Councilors Morris Bergman and Donna Colorio voted against the resolution.

Nguyen, the state’s first non-binary elected official, took a leave from the council last month, but returned for Tuesday night’s vote. Nguyen had cited experiences of transphobia and what they described as a discriminatory and toxic council culture.

Prior to the vote, voices spoke up in favor and against the resolution.

Petty: Trump ‘just plain wrong’

Petty called President Donald Trump’s executive order recognizing two genders “just plain wrong.”  

“This is something that needs to be passed tonight,” Petty said. “It’s dehumanizing people. We should de-humanize nobody – not here in the city of Worcester.”

Petty reminded other council members that a resolution is not an ordinance.

An ordinance is considered a legally binding law, while a resolution is a formal statement or opinion of a governing body.

“We’re passing a resolution that’s just saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got your back,’” Petty said, “and that’s what people are looking for, so they can go home and sleep safely at night.”

Loss of federal funding a concern

Bergman said the council should consider any potential loss of federal funding to the city as a result of passing the resolution.

He also said that the term “sanctuary city” is a buzzword that may cause more problems for the city, rather than other language that might accomplish the same goal.

“I see nothing in the resolution that adds any more safety that doesn’t already exist,” Bergman said. “The language in here that refers to sanctuary city and immigration and other things, are buzzwords, under current administration that need not have been there.”

Colorio also asked about the risks of losing federal funding if the city opted to affirmed its status as a sanctuary city.

City solicitor: ‘No historical precedence’

“Unchartered territory,” said City Solicitor Alexandra H. Kalkounis, who added that there is no legal process by which the federal government could rescind funding to a municipality.

“There is risk, as there is with everything, because of the unknown,” Kalkounis said. “Cities across the country are adopting similar resolutions, and there is no historical precedence here, as there is for the immigration.”

City Manager Eric Batista answered questions about what would happen if the city did lose federal funding – for things like housing, urban development and social programs.

“We would have to work as a city to find a way to fund those programs,” he said. “There are a lot of community-based organizations that receive numerous funds to be able to provide their services.”

King: ‘We have an opportunity here’

King said President Donald Trump has, so far, tried and failed in every attempt to withhold federal funds.

“There’s an attack by executive order coming out of Washington D.C.,” King said. “To remove that from us is illegal. It’s been challenged and upheld.”

King also had some words about the Oval Office.

“It’s a ‘Will we piss off Trump’ question, which is not a legal question,” he said. “We have an opportunity here. We’re going to have many opportunities with regards to the next four years, to stand up and do what’s right. We’re going to have opportunities to stand for what we believe in as a city, and to prove it.”

Residents: ‘Make us feel a little safer’

Prior to the vote, residents urged city leaders to support the transgender and gender diverse community.

Two weeks ago, the City Council re-upped its commitment to be a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants.

“How many of us have to come forward tonight to ask that you simply make us feel a little safer?” resident Olivia Scanlon said. “Why is that so much to ask? You don’t have to change your personal beliefs. You don’t have to be gender diverse. If you don’t want to be in a gay marriage, you don’t have to be in one. You just have to exercise an iota of empathy.”

“Here we are again, still pleading, still fighting for basic dignity,” Cayden Davis said. “Stop being cowards. Do the right thing. Declare this city a sanctuary city.”

“I spent this afternoon making copies of all of my family’s documents…and applying for pass ports, because we have a trans child, and the city of Worcester doesn’t even want to send me the message that we might not be safe here,” resident Danielle Killay said.

Steve Smith is a veteran reporter from Connecticut with 17 years of experience at The Hartford Courant. Now based in Worcester, he brings his passion for photojournalism to his work and spends much of his free time behind the camera