MADISON, Wis. — Dane County has become the first in the nation to be a sanctuary for transgender and nonbinary people.
The County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Thursday night adopting the plan. It’s a preemptive measure: if Wisconsin ever had laws against gender transition care, the county board would urge the sheriff’s office to enforce those laws at the lowest priority.
Hundreds of those laws have been proposed across the country.
A.J. Hardie, the program director for OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center, said this decision makes him feel like the trans community has the county’s support.
Hardie grew up in North Carolina, where lawmakers have proposed bans on minors getting gender transition care. He used to think about going back to visit family, or even moving back as his mom ages. As a trans man, he said that’s now in doubt.
“At least no matter what happens in the other places that I’ve called home throughout my life, Dane County will be a safe place, and somewhere I can keep calling home for as long as I want to be here,” he said.
The majority of feedback sent to the county board supported the resolution. Meanwhile, the majority of people who spoke at the meeting were opposed. It passed almost unanimously, with District 20 Supervisor Jeff Weigand being the only “no” vote on the board.
“It’s just contrary to God’s design,” he said. “God designed man, and God designed women, and we should submit to that design authority, which is what He created.”
He’s worried transition care could hurt the children experiencing gender dysphoria.
“To those kids, I would encourage them to wait it out,” Weigand said. “Become an adult, and then you can make those decisions at that point in time.”
However, data shows some of these kids won’t have the chance to wait it out. A study from The Trevor Project found more than half of young trans or nonbinary minors in America considered suicide within the past year.
“All of that is a mask for transphobia and for bigotry,” Hardie said. “Because if it was really about protecting children, it would be about protecting all children, including queer and trans children.”