AUSTIN, Texas — Monday night the LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission approved a resolution to go before Austin city council, to expand transgender and sexual identity protections for those seeking healthcare in the city.
“We, right now, are asking for things that cis-people all across this state have access to without fear, without worry.” Loren Perkins, of Austin, said. “On that liberal to conservative spectrum, we’re simply being used as pawns on a board of chess.”
Despite the rhetoric coming from state politicians, Perkins says they just want to be seen as human beings.
“What really matters right now is are we doing everything that we can to support our vulnerable populations. Are we doing things that will change the material conditions for the better?” Perkins said. “And if the answer to that is no, then the question has to be why not?”
From banning gender-affirming care for minors, attempts to ban certain drag show in front of children, and scrapping Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives at public universities, many in the Austin LGBTQ-plus community feel they’re under attack.
“We need to lead the charge,” Annie Salvidar, with Austin Pride, said. “And speak for those who still feel like they have to live in fear, those who can’t be their true authentic self because of changes that continue to get passed or pushed.”
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With that in mind, Monday night the LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission unanimously passed a resolution with one abstention—to expand protections for transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-fluid individuals.
“I think the first thing is for them to understand that they’re being heard,” Commissioner Chair John Scott Neal, whose comments don’t represent the Commission as a whole, said. “But we’re also trying to take concrete steps to ensure that their time living in Austin is the safest it can be.”
If passed by the city council, the resolution would keep the city from using any funds or resources to investigate, prosecute, or litigate any transgender individual seeking healthcare, or anyone helping said individual receive care. The city manager would also be tasked with establishing a program to support those facing criminal or civil prosecution for seeking healthcare.
“We’re here to take concrete steps to ensure that we’re doing what we can as a city to protect you, to ensure that your rights as an individual are being addressed,” Neal said.
For Perkins, it’s a big step, but only the first step.
“Austin is at the forefront of the trans rights movement in Texas as it stands, which I think that Texas is on the vanguard of that moment, as well,” Perkins said. “I don’t want to see the council members, sort of, sit on their laurels and say we’ve done everything that they can. I want them to realize that there is more work that needs to be done in order to protect transgender nonbinary people in the city of Austin.”
There’s no indication when the city council would take up the measure, but this resolution will be returned to them after being reworked with the help of the city’s legal department as requested by the city council.
The commission also spent the evening talking about a possible LGBTQ Cultural Center, though those discussions with the community have just begun.
