WORCESTER—Residents again urged the City of Worcester to stand up to the injustices they see coming via executive order from the president, and to protect Worcester’s transgender community. The council voted in the petition to affirm the city’s status as a sanctuary city for the LGBTIA+ community.
The public participation portion of the meeting lasted three hours, with many speakers also taking the opportunity to scold the council on its inaction, as well as councilors’ appearing to not pay attention to speakers.
Citing the council’s decision, just two weeks prior, to re-up its commitment to be a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants, several residents asked why the same would not apply to trans people.
Councilor Donna Colorio asked again about the risks of losing federal funding if the city opted to affirmed its status as a sanctuary city.
“Unchartered territory,” said City Solicitor Alexandra H. Kalkounis, who added that there is no legal process by which the federal government could rescind funding to a municipality.
“There is risk, as there is with everything, because of the unknown,” Kalkounis said. “Cities across the country are adopting similar resolutions, and there is no historical precedence here, as there is for the immigration.”
Council member Morris Bergman agreed that the federal funding should be considered, because it does affect the livelihoods of many Worcester residents. He also said that the term “sanctuary city” is a buzzword that may cause more problems for the city, rather than other language that might accomplish the same goal.
“I see nothing in the resolution that adds any more safety that doesn’t already exist,” Bergman said. “The language in here that refers to sanctuary city and immigration and other things, are buzzwords, under current administration that need not have been there. This could have been put forward similar[ly] to what the [Massachusetts] Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell recently about her belief in how to protect the LGBTQ+ community, in a way that would not have included these buzzwords and not have caused the amount of concern that I have, at least, on what happens in the future regarding federal dollars.”
“We would have to work as a city to find a way to fund those programs,” Batista said, answering a question about the potential financial impact, adding that most of the federal dollars come to the city via Housing and Urban Development funds, and related social programs.
“There are a lot of community-based organizations that receive numerous funds to be able to provide their services,” Batista said.
Mayor Petty called President Donald Trump’s executive order “just plain wrong.”
“This is something that needs to be passed tonight,” Petty said. “It’s dehumanizing people. We should de-humanize nobody. Not here in the city of Worcester.”
Petty reminded other council members that it’s not an ordinance they are passing.
“We’re passing a resolution that’s just saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got your back,’” Petty said, “and that’s what people are looking for, so they can go home and sleep safely at night.”
“There’s an attack by executive order coming out of Washington D.C.,” King said, adding that the withholding of funding has been challenged and failed every time. “To remove that from us is illegal. It’s been challenged and upheld.”
King also had some words about the Oval Office.
“It’s a ‘Will we piss off Trump’ question, which is not a legal question,” he said. “We have an opportunity here. We’re going to have many opportunities with regards to the next four years, to stand up and do what’s right. We’re going to have opportunities to stand for what we believe in as a city, and to prove it.”
The resolution passed, with Bergman and Colorio as the two “no” votes.
The passionate public
“How many of us have to come forward tonight to ask that you simply make us feel a little safer?” said resident Olivia Scanlon during the public speaking portion that leads the council meetings. “Why is that so much to ask? You don’t have to change your personal beliefs. You don’t have to be gender diverse. If you don’t want to be in a gay marriage, you don’t have to be in one. You just have to exercise an iota of empathy.”
“Here we are again, still pleading, still fighting for basic dignity,” Cayden Davis said. “Stop being cowards. Do the right thing. Declare this city a sanctuary city.”
“I spent this afternoon making copies of all of my family’s documents…and applying for pass ports, because we have a trans child, and the city of Worcester doesn’t even want to send me the message that we might not be safe here,” resident Danielle Killay said.
Steve Smith is a veteran reporter from Connecticut with 17 years of experience at The Hartford Courant. Now based in Worcester, he brings his passion for photojournalism to his work and spends much of his free time behind the camera
