Agenda Text
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Proposing an Ordinance securing the rights of individuals seeking gender-affirming care.
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Official Text
CITY OF SOMERVILLE
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-
IN CITY COUNCIL: ________, 2022
An Ordinance Securing the Rights of Individuals Seeking Gender Affirming Care
Be it ordained by the Somerville City Council in session assembled, that Chapter 2, Article I of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Somerville is hereby amended by adding the following section:
Sec. 2-9 - Securing the rights of individuals seeking gender affirming care.
(a) Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to reaffirm our city as a welcoming community, to declare again that all are welcome here, and to continue to increase public confidence in Somerville’s government by clearly stating guiding values and standards associated with our city’s involvement in any civil or criminal action originating in another jurisdiction related to attempts to obtain gender affirming care for transgender individuals.
(b) Preamble. In recent years, a rising number of states are threatening the lives of transgender and non-binary people by criminalizing and restricting access to gender affirming care, even going so far as to attempt to criminalize traveling out of state to seek such care. It is not within the purview nor mandate of the City of Somerville to enforce another state’s civil or criminal law seeking to curb an individual’s right to bodily autonomy and to engage with gender affirming care. Further, it is contrary to the City of Somerville’s public policy to criminalize a person’s efforts to live as their full, authentic self, and thus the City’s resources should not be expended toward that end.
(c) Definitions.
(1) Gender affirming care means a range of social, psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity when it conflicts with the gender they were assigned at birth
(2) Gender expression means the representation of gender as expressed by an individual including, but not limited to, through one’s name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics
(3) Gender identity means one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth. One’s gender identity may be male, female, neither or both
(4) Transgender refers to a person whose gender identity, expression, or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth, and encompasses both binary and non-binary identities
(d) Order.
(1) Equal treatment. The City of Somerville will treat all persons equally, enforce laws, and serve the public without consideration of a person’s gender identity. A person’s gender expression shall have no bearing on an individual’s treatment by employees or officers of city agencies or departments
(2) Role of police. The Somerville Police Department will not initiate investigations or take law enforcement action on the basis of an individual seeking gender affirming care. The Somerville Police Department shall not take part in or assist with any civil or criminal action against a person or entity that allows a person, whether child or adult, to receive gender affirming care, or who seeks gender affirming care themselves.
(3) Requests for information. No officer of employee of the City of Somerville, including the Somerville Police Department, shall comply with any requests for information made for the purpose of taking civil or criminal action against a person or entity that allows a person, whether child or adult, to receive gender affirming care, or who seeks gender affirming care themselves, except information that is available through the Massachusetts Public Records laws. G.L. c. 66, § 10 and G.L. c. 4, § 7 (twenty-sixth).
(e) Complaints. Allegations of violations of this ordinance may be filed by any method provided for filing of complaints, including without limitation with the personnel department or, in the case of a complaint against an officer or employee of the Somerville Police Department, the Department’s Internal Affairs office, who shall investigate the complaint and take appropriate disciplinary action.
(f) Reporting. Beginning on the date of passage of this ordinance and every six months thereafter, the Somerville Chief of Police shall submit to the mayor and the city clerk a report on the number and type of requests received, if any, from other jurisdictions for assistance or information related to civil or criminal action on the basis of a person or entity providing, allowing, or seeking gender affirming care. Such report will be placed on the agenda of the next-occurring meeting of the city council.
(g) Effective date. The provisions of this ordinance shall be effective immediately upon passage. All policies, practices, procedures, directives, and training necessary to effectively and faithfully implement this ordinance shall be promptly developed and promulgated by the administration, the Somerville Police Department, and all other relevant entities.
(h) Severability. If any part or provision of this ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of this ordinance.
Approved:
President
NOTE: See Attachment "6-9-22 (CLEAN) Amendment Gender Affirming Care and Reproductive Healthcare Protections" for the Ordained text.