On Friday, the city council for Boston, Massachusetts voted 12-1 in favor of a resolution declaring the capital city as a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people, meaning it will not enact anti-LGBTQ+ policies or comply with federal demands to do so.

The resolution codifies LGBTQ+ protection at the local level and denounces policies that will undermine access to essential gender-affirming healthcare, reproductive services, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. 

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LIz Breadon (D), the first out gay woman to be elected to the city council, called on Boston to adopt the measure as a way of supporting trans-people amid harmful rhetoric coming from the White House under the current administration.

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“During the election and since, there’s been an incredible escalation in anti-trans rhetoric and violence that has caused incredible stress and anxiety to our LGBTQI+ community, and especially to our trans brothers and sisters,” Breadon said.

The city of Boston boasts a rich history of progress and resilience with the LGBTQ+ community. The Transgender Day of Remembrance, an international November 20 observance that memorializes deceased trans community members, originated in the city of Boston.

The observance was founded in 1999 after the slaying of Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett in Boston. One of the day’s organizers, during a vigil held for Hester, was shocked to realize none of her own friends remembered Pickett or her slaying three years prior.

Councilor Ed Flynn (D) was the only member to vote against the measure. When asked about his decision to deviate from the general consensus by the Boston Herald, he cited confusion and a lack of understanding, stating, “I would like to learn more about what this resolution does — I don’t want to be disrespectful to anybody, but it’s just something I would like to have before I vote.”

The move benefits the nation’s 10th largest LGBTQ+ population but also poses a political risk.

Maine became a trans sanctuary state in 2024 by signing LD 227 into law. The state has since become the target of the current administration for not complying with the president’s anti-trans agenda.

In February, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found the state violated Title IX, a federal statute prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools, for alleged “sex discrimination” after the state’s Governor Janet Mills (D) declared that she would not comply with the president’s order to ban trans athletes from women’s sports.

HHS has threatened to withhold funding from the state, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended all funding to the University of Maine. The state is expected to fight this decision in a First Circuit Court case, arguing that the state government is merely upholding the Maine Human Rights Act, which forbids discrimination based on gender identity.

For now, the current presidential administration has yet to take any actions against the city of Boston. Massachusetts, which currently retains a strong democrat majority, is still seeing pushback from Republican representatives who have introduced four anti-trans bills this year, all of which target transgender youth.

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