San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston Joins Trans Youth, Adults, and Education Advocates to Condemn Anti-Trans Legislation & Call For Greater Protection of Trans Youth and Adults Here At Home

SAN FRANCISCO — On Tuesday, transgender youth activists, transgender advocates, community leaders, parents, and education advocates came together to support a resolution being introduced by District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, which condemns attacks on the trans and LGBQ+ community and calls for further protection of transgender youth and adults. The resolution was presented by the San Francisco Education Alliance to the Board of Supervisors ahead of pro-trans youth mobilizations and the Transgender District’s Transgender Week of Visibility, which is slated to kick off with a youth-led march on March 25th. Preston’s resolution is being cosponsored by the entire Board of Supervisors.

The resolution was announced as hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced around the country– many of the bills targeting the trans community– with new legislation in various cities and states being introduced each week. The resolution also comes shortly after the release of a viral video of a woman berating a customer at a San Francisco restaurant with anti-trans rhetoric.

After the redistricting process moved the Transgender District into District 5 in 2021, Preston championed the effort that landmarked the iconic intersection of Turk and Taylor Streets in the Tenderloin with the local Historic Preservation Commission–the site in which the first large-scale act of resistance by Black and brown trans and queer individuals in the country against police violence took place in August of 1966.

“In recent weeks, my office has heard from numerous trans youth who want the Board of Supervisors– and San Francisco as a whole– to put themselves on record against the legislative attacks around the country on the identity, freedom, and wellbeing of trans youth,” stated Supervisor Preston. “With this resolution, we make clear our opposition to these meanspirited measures, while also recognizing the improvements that can be made here in our own city.”

Among the list of supporters and stakeholders for the resolution is the San Francisco Education Alliance, a coalition uplifting inclusive and equitable public education spaces, who approached Preston’s office alongside San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) students to request the resolution.

“We are grateful that this resolution includes student voices, and that the process included hearing the needs of trans and nonbinary youth,” stated Lea McGeever on behalf of the San Francisco Education Alliance. “This resolution has what are, ultimately, simple asks: that SFUSD fulfill a year-old pledge to create and fund a Queer and Trans Parent Advisory Council; compliance with state civil rights laws; and that our trans and LGBQ+ students hear that they are valued and will be safe in our city’s schools and youth-serving organizations.”

Transgender youth have been victims of anti-transgender legislative attacks over the last several years. Florida and Tennessee are amongst the long list of states with extremist and transphobic rhetoric that have taken strides in banning gender-affirming care for youth. According to medical studies, gender-affirming care for youth have notably proven to reduce depression and drastically diminish suicide attempts. Nonetheless, trans youth, and the transgender and LGBQ+ community at-large, have been used as a wedge issue to further right wing political agendas.

“Trans kids want to feel cared for, like everybody else. We don’t want our restrooms to be in a hidden place that makes you feel ashamed. We want to be called by the right name from the first day of school. I hope this resolution starts to make San Francisco schools safer for trans kids” said Thunder B., a trans student who worked on the resolution.

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