Recommendation to request City Manager to send a letter of opposition to President Trump, the Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding their efforts to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX that excludes transgender people. Request new language in our State and Federal Agendas, in consultation with the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach, that specifically supports transgender-inclusive policies on the state and federal level.
Thanks. Thank you. We're going to go out and take that picture and let's give them a round of applause to thank him for their work. Okay. We're going to hear item 14, which is related to the item. Madam Court, can you read 14, please? Okay. Item 14 is a communication from Councilwoman Gonzalez. Council Member Peers. Council Member Tauranga. Council Member Richardson. Recommendation to request city managers to send a letter. Opposition to President Trump, the Office of the Civil Rights and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding their efforts to establish illegal definitions of sex under Title nine that exclude transgender people and request new language in the state and federal agendas. Thank you, Councilwoman Gonzalez. Yes. Thank you so much. And I'm glad and thankful for my coauthors, Councilmember Richardson, Councilmember Muranga and Councilmember Pierce for supporting me on this item today related to really what has been dubbed the Discrimination Administration. And I will say that, as we had mentioned earlier in the presentation, that we had just done that, you know, this this city is so much more vibrant and so much better when we are inclusive rather than being exclusive. So since two years ago, this administration has been dubbed what I mentioned, the Discrimination Administration, because of its constant attacks and exclusion of the LGBTQ community. The National Center for Transgender Equality has tracked this administration's roughly 30 individual actions against the trans community. And what we're asking for today is to ensure that this inclusion, not exclusion, remains on our state and federal legislative agendas and also remains a mainstay of our policy work here in the city. Some of the actions taken thus far by this administration have included the Department of Health and Human Services, removed demographic questions about LGBT people that center that Centers for Independent Living must fill out each year in their annual program performance report. Secondly, the Census Bureau retracted a proposal to collect demographic information on LGBT people in the 2020 census. He's also made mention of banning transgender individuals from the military. And I think the very first action that I personally noticed when he took office was removing the LGBT page off of the White House, White House's normal pages, which was , for me personally a very strong reaction to being exclusive of the community. And so a few weeks ago, as we've seen this, they're trying to erase and redefine any definition of transgender form, form from federal law. And so what we need to do here is to just stand together, ensuring that, again, that we include the LGBTQ community in every single city policy that we have. So I urge my colleagues to support this item and certainly in a greater sense to support the LGBTQ community. And I think everyone, again, for being here at the center Long Beach, I see our Imperial Court friends and many friends that have been alongside us in our work for some time. So thank you very much. Thank you. Can we make the motion, please? There's a motion and a second council member. Pearce. Yes. I want to thank my colleague for bringing this item forward, I think. I feel a lot of the same sentiments. And tonight, celebrating remembrance. I've I've been there at Harvey Milk Park before when and I've stood there and I've read names. And it's really heartbreaking. And it's heartbreaking that it's typically once a year that we stand there and we share the names of people that have lost their lives for living to them their very best self, who they were born to be. And so it's heartbreaking because we often think about how do we educate small communities or, you know, after Prop eight, it was like, let's knock on as many doors as possible with members of the LGBT community so that we could say, Hey, I'm a normal human just like you, and we can break down those barriers. But when it comes from our president, it is a moment that is so disheartening and just rocks you to your core. But it stays like this that you get to remember that that that person still might be part of the community that we still have to organize around, and that by being a city, we have local power to do that. And so I'm really humbled to be on this item. And again, I just want to celebrate our community and thank you guys for being courageous and brave and and not backing down from being who you are. I'm really proud of everybody. So thank you again. Councilmember Gonzalez. Thank you, Councilmember Pearce. Councilwoman Price. I want to thank my colleagues for bringing this item forward. I think it's a great item and I'm happy to support it. Thank you, Councilmember Arango. Thank you, marin. And I also want to thank Councilmember Gonzales for bringing this forward and for inviting me to participate in this. I know that when we exclude anyone, we exclude everybody. So let's be inclusionary. And I'm very proud that I'm. A member of the city council in Long Beach that is pushing this forward. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much. There's a motion in a any public comment on the item? Please come forward and just come to the podium, please. Hi again. My name is Joel Jimeno, and I'm here on behalf again of the LGBTQ center of Long Beach. And we are here to express our support for this letter of opposition, the efforts of the current fit federal administration to exclude transgender people as it considers a redefinition of sex under Title nine is an offensive push that works to a minimum to minimize acts of hate against trans people. Should this effort move forward, it would place unnecessary barriers on trans individuals to live freely and would legally allow for discrimination. This is the latest in a string of attacks, as Councilwoman Gonzales was saying, against LGBTQ people. And what we know is it would actually work to increase social inequalities and disparities for our trans community members who already have disproportionate rates of these inequalities. And this is an effort that we as a community must visibly stand against. Your approval of last week's name and pronoun policy reiterates how Long Beach sees here and acceptance community members for who they are. This is a value that we hold in high regard, and as such we must stand firm and be vocal against any attempt to undermine this value. Last week I was at an event for the Center and the National Center for Transgender Equality, and I was fortunate enough to talk to a young person who had just graduated and said they were working in Wyoming with LGBTQ youth. And they said, I'm so happy to speak to you all, because our because the youth in Wyoming, you know, that they look at your Instagram page for the youth and Long Beach and they look at it as a possibility model. And I was so happy to hear this because it affirms something that I had thought for a long time. Long Beach isn't just is not invisible when it comes to these things, to this conversation. And it's not just a part of this conversation. In fact, it's a leader in this conversation. And so we urge you to approve this this item. Absolutely. Because as a leader, we need to stand strong, visible, and we have a responsibility to speak up. And of course, like always, the center offers its assistance and any items that you may need help with. So thank you very much. I appreciate your time. Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Is there any other speakers? I'm closing the speaker. Mister, could you please get in line, please, sir? Sure could here. I think. I thought you were next, so. Okay, then. There you'll be the last speaker. Go ahead, sir. Bill size of Council District three of Mayor Garcia. Council members. I am encouraging you to accept this policy, but I have a little issue with the language as noted on item 14, which is in consultation with the LGBTQ center, Long Beach. I would like to make sure that the City Council does not use the consultation of LGBTQ center Long Beach exclusively. There are other agents that I work with directly in New York and Washington, D.C. that are do this every day. They establish policy on a national. Level. For federal guidelines. So I'd like to provide my resources directly to Councilmember Elian Gonzalez. Janine Pierce, Robert Ringo Richardson. We have policies in place. And if you listen to what Joel said, he's focusing on transgender youth. He's not even addressing transgender adults or transgender seniors last year or the LGBTQ center here in Long Beach didn't even attend any of the trans giving dinners or friendsgiving dinners here in our county. So they're not in our city, so they're not even reaching out to our total transgender community. So I don't feel that they're completely prepared to address this as an organization. When I have resources for you that I can provide, that are doing this, are reaching out, are finding that there are there are two organizations in L.A. County that are doing this already. So I'm more than willing to provide you the names, phone numbers and their policies on what they're doing for the entire LGBTQ community, which includes transgenders of all ages. Thank you. Thank you, sir. And Mr. Good here. And then the speaker list is closed. Very good you, Clark, because of the address. This is a slippery slope. What say you to the individuals that want to marry somebody under age? And have two or three. We heard from the people last week and tonight who are championing this. They also championed Snoop Dogg. All right. With those views that he has relative to women. The councilperson from the second district. Doesn't even isn't even smart enough to know you can't fish off the company pier. So are you now going to allow. People in the city to fish off a company pier. It's a dangerous slope, but it's. There are. No limit to the number of cases. That come on the front pages of the news where you've got people that have ten. Eight, ten, 12. Marriages. American kids. They are under age. Five, six, seven, eight of the. There are three stories in that. There's a line to draw, and I think you've crossed that line. Notwithstanding the intense, the good intentions, some people. But you really haven't thought it completely through. What say you to the person that wants to marry his dog? Or as Kat. Because that's part of their family. Mm hmm. That's a slippery slope from which there's no return. Councilman Gonzalez. I'm going to leave with a positive note. Happy and International Trans Gender Remembrance Day. I hope all of you can join us tonight, and I thank you so very much for being here. Let's give them another big round of applause for all of their hard work. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And thank you all for being here as well. And it's always it's always good also to be remembered, to remember that not everyone in our community is supportive, is kind, is compassionate, and is willing to uplift and support people. And so more than ever, it's important for our community and for the LGBTQ community to to be strong and to continue the good fight. So thank you for being here today. And with that, we have a motion in a second, so please cast your votes. Motion carries.