MADISON (WKOW) -- The Madison Common Council is expected to introduce a resolution Tuesday night that would make the city a "sanctuary" for trans and nonbinary residents.
The goal of the resolution is to make Madison a safe place for transgender people and their families.
If passed, the Madison Common Council will ask the Chief of the Madison Police Department to make enforcing any laws surrounding gender-affirming care, the lowest priority.
The Dane County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a similar resolution last week after hours of discussion on the topic.
Around 50 community members spoke about the resolution. In the end, the board approved it by a 25-1 margin.
Jeff Weigand, supervisor of the 20th District, was the only board member to vote against it. He said in an email he was "sorry" to share the news of this resolution.
"What’s worse is the resolution specifically offers support to 'trans youth' and encourages all School Boards in Dane County to support transgender children," Weigand's email said. "Encouraging an adult to mutilate their God determined gender is very sad; but to encourage the mutilation of a child’s body is horrific and is to be condemned and not praised."
One of the 29 sponsors of the resolution, Supervisor Dana Pellebon says the supervisors that had a hand in creating the resolution pulled from anti-trans legislation being enacted across the country.
The resolution cited a survey from the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention group focused on LGBTQ youth, that found trans people are four times as likely to be victims of violent crimes.
"It's important for people to know that there is a space where they are seen, where they are heard, where they are protected," Pellebon said. "So, I'm walking into this, even with all the hate that we have gotten, proud and firm. That what we're doing is the right thing."
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