WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia is committed to being a welcoming City for all who wish to live, work or visit. This promise is made to all people, regardless of background, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, Our LGBTQ+ residents must know that the City of Philadelphia is committed to not only recognizing, but actively protecting, their status as welcome residents and visitors, adding to and benefitting from all this great City has to offer; and
WHEREAS, The 2022
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
decision opened the door for a repeal of not only reproductive rights, but also the potential repeal of LGBTQ+ rights such as marriage equality at the State and Federal levels, as was noted in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion; and
WHEREAS, As a result, the LGBTQ+ community faces threats to their rights and equal protections, including legalizing discrimination in employment, unequal access to quality housing and healthcare, as well as threats of verbal and physical attacks; and
WHEREAS, Specifically, the Transgender community faces an unprecedented attack from actors who seek to minimize their rights and their voices. State and federal decision makers both here in Pennsylvania and nationally have proposed and, in some cases, passed legislation which is aimed at limiting their ability to live their ability to live freely and authentically. Future legislation and policy could impose criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties, or professional sanctions on health care professionals who provide gender-affirming healthcare and on persons who seek, receive, or assist another in receiving gender-affirming healthcare; and
WHEREAS, Studies have shown that gender transition, including access to gender-affirming healthcare, improves the overall well-being of Transgender people and access to gender-affirming healthcare for youth is associated with better mental health outcomes and lower risks of suicide; and
WHEREAS, Future legislation could limit access to gender-affirming healthcare, which has been proven to be evidence-based, medically necessary, and life-saving by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatricians, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychiatric Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, amongst other institutions; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia must affirm to protect the rights and equal protections for LGBTQIA+ people, which can include, but is not limited to, ensuring access to employment, housing, public accommodations and services, support for LGBTQ+ families, access to public and private restrooms, ability to participate in athletics, freedom of speech in the form of drag performance, proper identification and pronoun usage in schools and access to books and curriculum that cover gender diversity; and
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it is does hereby
declare the City of Philadelphia's commitment to protect the rights and equal protections of all LGBTQ+ Philadelphians in light of the recent increase in attempts to restrict the rights of Transgender people; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, That no City resources, including time spent by employees, officers, contractors, or subcontractors or other shall be used to enforce state or federal laws that infringe upon the rights of Transgender Philadelphians; and
FINALLY RESOLVED, That no City resources shall be utilized for cooperating with or providing information to any individual or out-of-state agency or department regarding the provision of lawful gender-affirming healthcare or gender-affirming mental healthcare performed in the state of Pennsylvania.
End