AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin City Council on Thursday passed a resolution its members say aims to protect transgender residents. But it's already drawing criticism from Texas Republicans.
The "Transgender Protection Resolution" stops city funds and resources from being used to investigate transgender or nonbinary people for seeking health care. It also says if there is ever a law that punishes transgender people for seeking health care – or anyone who helps those people get health care – city staff should make enforcing that law their lowest priority.
The resolution is aimed at Senate Bill 14, a law passed during the regular legislative session last year, which bans certain medical treatments for transgender children, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers. The law also bans transition-related surgeries, which are rare for minors. Any physicians who break the law can lose their licenses.
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Thursday on social media, Republicans criticized the city council for passing the resolution.
"The State should also consider enacting legislation to make any council member who votes for resolutions like this personally liable for any costs associated with and harms resulting from the de facto sanctioning and facilitation of these illegal procedures," State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian), one of the co-sponsors of SB 14, said in a post on social media platform X Thursday morning.
Republicans who support the law say medical treatment for transgender children is harmful. But Democrats and doctors who oppose the law say the treatment is necessary and life-saving for patients' well-being and mental health.
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The Austin resolution was brought forward by Councilmember José “Chito” Vela (District 4).
"Trans people deserve the right to self-determination. Our state has forced them and their medical providers into hiding, and that is wrong," Vela said. "Austinites do not prioritize criminal enforcement of rules that limit medical decisions made between families and their doctors, whether that’s the decision to terminate a pregnancy or how to treat a child struggling with gender dysphoria."
The resolution was co-sponsored by Mayor Kirk Watson and Councilmembers Vanessa Fuentes (District 2), José Velásquez (District 3), Ryan Alter (District 5) and Zohaib "Zo" Qadri (District 9).
Before the vote, District 1 Councilmember Natasha Harper-Madison acknowledged that she has a transgender child and gave a passionate plea for city leaders and Austinites to not only work better together, but communicate better.
"I want everybody to recognize that we don't have to be the same... the diversity and humanity is part of the beauty of it, and we all get to have our own opinions," Harper-Madison said.
Miriam Leaky, the Government Affairs Director for Equality Texas, called the passing of Thursday's resolution a victory but said that the fight is far from over.
"The attacks are consistent and not going anywhere anytime soon," Leaky said. "We're really looking forward to continuing to to hold our our presence and our voices within the halls of power and in our communities."
On Thursday afternoon, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued the following statement in response to the council's resolution:
"On May 2, 2024, the Austin City Council passed a resolution that purportedly directs the City Manager and city employees not to comply with Texas’s prohibition of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and invasive surgeries for children who believe their gender is different than their biological sex. Riddled with problems, the resolution starts with the falsehood that such prohibited treatments have ‘proven to be evidence based, medically necessary, and lifesaving.’ In addition to a growing body of medical research rejecting such claims, Texas concluded that the proposed treatments for minors are dangerous, and banned the practices by passing SB 14.
Further, the resolution is no more than an empty political statement. Each clause directing the City Manager to defy SB 14 is prefaced with the nonsensical qualification, ‘except to the extent required by law.’ In other words, the Austin City Council would order the City Manager and city employees to follow the law while pretending to say the exact opposite.
If the City of Austin refuses to follow the law and protect children, my office will consider every possible response to ensure compliance. Texas municipalities do not have the authority to pick and choose which state laws they will or will not abide by. The people of Texas have spoken, and Austin City Council must listen."