Wisconsin County to vote on becoming a sanctuary for transgender youth

Leaders in a Wisconsin county will vote Thursday whether to become a sanctuary for transgender and nonbinary people.

Along with a resolution recognizing Pride Month at the Dane County Board’s June 1 meeting, County Board Supervisor Rick Rose introduced a resolution “declaring Dane County a sanctuary for Transgender and Nonbinary individuals.” The resolution was referred to committee and is now scheduled to be voted on by the board Thursday.

According to a press release, the resolution states that “if the State of Wisconsin passes a law that imposes criminal or civil punishments, fines, or professional sanctions on any person or organization that seeks, provides, receives or helps someone to receive gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormones or surgery, the Dane County Board of Supervisors urges the Sheriff to make enforcement their lowest priority.”

State Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, has previously sponsored legislation that would make it illegal for doctors to perform cross-sex surgery on anyone under 18. The legislation did not pass, but Allen vowed to introduce a similar measure in the coming session, according to Journal Sentinel.

Rose believes such legislation is “meant to harm the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender youth,” but Allen says his bill is to help children by preventing the irreversible harms caused by gender treatments. 

“Children who identify as transgender deserve help, not harm,” Allen said in a statement about his bill. “The current ‘recommended’ treatment process involving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery, may in fact be harmful and irreversible.  

“Considering that research demonstrates that 80-95% of children will outgrow gender dysphoria if untreated, we should not encourage harmful interventions with lifelong consequences.” 

Scarlett Johnson, a Wisconsin parent activist with a national following, was among the first to report Dane County’s plans, and voiced her opposition to the new resolution in a Twitter post.  

“Woke activists plan to make Dane County, WI a ‘sanctuary city’ for ‘trans and non-binary’ kids,” Johnson wrote. “They declare that kids cannot be prevented from: Being exposed to pornographic materials, participating in sexualized drag queen shows, potential sterilization and medical harm from cross sex hormones, removing their genitalia/reproductive organs.” 

Twenty of the county’s 37 supervisors have sponsored the resolution, according to Fox News.