The city of Worcester, located in Massachusetts, has officially voted to become a “transgender sanctuary city.” Tuesday’s vote was 9-2 in favor of establishing the new status of Massachusetts’s second-largest city.

The resolution states, “No city resources … or city property, shall be utilized for detaining persons for solely seeking or providing gender-affirming care. No city resources [shall] be utilized for cooperating with or providing information to any individual or out-of-state agency or department regarding the provision of gender-affirming healthcare.” It added, “The trans, nonbinary, and LGBTQIA+ community in Worcester and nationally are being attacked by President Trump.”

Worcester resident Allie Cislo filed the resolution on behalf of the group, “Queer Residents of Worcester and Our Allies” in direct response to some of President Donald Trump’s new policies. Trump had said during an October campaign speech that he was determined to “defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology and reaffirm that God created two genders, male and female.” He followed through with this statement on the day of his inauguration, when he declared, “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders.”

As the New York Post reported, “The resolution has no legally binding power but means the city is officially committed to refusing to cooperate with federal or out-of-state entities that would infringe on the rights of trans and queer people.” The outlet highlighted that Worcester “appears to be the first city to declare itself a trans sanctuary since Trump’s orders were issued.” However, other cities such as San Francisco, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, and Ithaca had declared similar statuses prior to Trump’s second term.

Leading up to the vote in Worcester, there were weeks of public testimony. The city council meetings have been described as “wild” by Fox News, which also highlighted how one “lengthy council meeting [had] approximately 200 people” connected to the LGBT movement who came to promote the resolution. For the most part, they voiced the same message of how they are “afraid of Trump.”

One advocate, Joshua Croke, co-founder and president of a Worcester-based LGBTQIA+ youth nonprofit, claimed that “when the president of the United States, in his inauguration speech says that you do not exist, it should matter at our local level.” He added, “It demands a response from our elected officials to say we recognize that you are under attack and in Worcester, we are going to protect you.” Another said, “I’m shaking right now. I don’t want to be here.” When that speaker was asked to close out the testimony, they quipped back, “I’m sorry, am I taking too long pleading for my life?”

One local even stated what appeared to be a threat. “If you say that you’re afraid of Trump and that’s why you don’t want the city to be a safe space for trans people, you better prepare for trans people to make this a very unsafe space,” the person said. And while most of the testimonies echoed similar sentiments that observers described as “fascism,” “corruption,” rights being “stripped away,” and lives being “lost,” many experts are seeing the circumstances from an entirely different angle.

For instance, Michael King, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, told The Washington Stand, “The Worcester City Council’s decision to declare the city a transgender sanctuary is more about political posturing than addressing a genuine need to protect members of the community.” King explained how “Massachusetts law already provides protections for individuals regardless of ‘gender identity.’ This resolution is in line with the council’s recent approval of a $500,000 fund in support of ‘LGBTQIA’ advocacy.”

Meg Kilgannon, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for Education Studies, also weighed in with a comment to TWS. “The Worcester City Council will find their federal funding in jeopardy because of this move,” she noted. “President Trump has made it clear that we are prioritizing two sexes in America, not multiple genders. It’s absurd that political leaders in this town are prioritizing sexual proclivities rather than those impoverished citizens who need practical help to survive in high cost, high tax Massachusetts.”

Ultimately, King concluded, “Worcester residents are facing serious issues like economic instability, a failing education system, crime, and increasing homelessness. Instead of spending taxpayer resources on empty gestures exploiting people confused about biological reality and placating special interest groups, the council should focus on solving real problems that impact all families in Worcester.”