WORCESTER, Massachusetts (LifeSiteNews) — The Worcester City Council voted to make Massachusetts’ second-largest city a “sanctuary” for those who claim to be “transgender” or “non-binary” and others who fit under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
The city council’s 9-2 vote in favor of the measure is viewed largely as a reaction to the Trump administration’s executive orders aimed at rooting out gender ideology from every arm of the government, the military, and education and to halt federal funding of so-called “gender-affirming care” – surgical and chemical mutilation – for minors.
During his inauguration speech, Trump promised that the federal government would only acknowledge two genders – male and female – while vowing to “defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology.”
Two hundred “LGBTQ+” persons reportedly showed up at Tuesday night’s council meeting, where several took to a podium to express their alarm at the quick actions taken by the Trump White House.
CCTV footage shows that the lengthy meeting took on an angry carnival atmosphere, with the council sometimes fighting to maintain control and decorum.
One speaker in indigo hair and white gloves said, “I need the city to protect me because the federal government won’t.”
The speaker, dressed in drag, went on to threaten the city council that if they didn’t vote to declare Worcester a sanctuary city, “You better prepare for trans people to make this [city] a very unsafe space.”
Another speaker demanded, “How many lives have to be lost before you consider fighting back against fascism and corruption?”
Last night, Worcester, Massachusetts voted to become a “Sanctuary City for Transgender and Gender Diverse People”
The City Council Meeting before the vote was… Interesting: pic.twitter.com/Ouun3BerqB
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) February 12, 2025
The resolution was put forth to the council after Thu Nguyen, the city’s councilor-at-large who identifies as “non-binary,” took a month-long break from the council alleging “transphobia” and public “misgendering” by two other members had made the environment at the council “toxic.”
“Under your leadership, I have felt unsafe around this council body,” Nguyen said. “I have faced transphobia with being misgendered and recently learned that I’ve been dehumanized to a point where I am being referred to as ‘it’ by my colleagues on this council.”
Worcester resident Allie Cislo, acting on behalf of “Queer Residents of Worcester and Our Allies,” had asked the City Council to declare itself “a sanctuary city and a place of safety for [so-called] transgender and gender diverse people.”
After the vote, Cislo told Telegram & Gazette, “It’s sad that it wasn’t unanimous, but I think we’re very pleased that Worcester has decided to affirm existing Massachusetts law and to reiterate that Worcester is a sanctuary” for people with gender confusion.
Mayor Joseph Petty said Worcester needs “to be strong as a community” because there’s “one enemy, and it’s down in Washington,” according to a report by Boston.com.
“I don’t care what your beliefs are … taking the word ‘transgender’ out of the vocabulary of the federal government is just plain wrong,” declared Petty. “Not here in the city of Worcester.”
While Worcester is apparently the first city to declare itself a sanctuary for gender-confused individuals since Trump took office, several other cities across America had already done so, including San Francisco, Sacramento, and West Hollywood in California and Kansas City, Missouri.