San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors – the legislative body within the city – issued an official resolution in response to the election of Donald Trump. And it is a thing of beauty.
Resolution Defies Trump’s Threats
During his campaign, in particular, President-elect Trump made many threats to all sorts of marginalized people. Though he’s walked back some of those threats since being elected, some are still very much on the table.
The resolution put forth by the San Francisco Board addresses many of those threats:
- Trump pledged to deny federal funding to sanctuary cities — cities that refuse to prosecute undocumented immigrants for the sole reason that they are undocumented. The resolution states that San Francisco will remain a sanctuary city.
- Trump’s election has many women concerned for their reproductive rights and their healthcare in general. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors states that they will continue to defend women’s rights in the face of a president who treats women as objects.
- Vice President-elect Mike Pence advocates for so-called “conversion therapy,” which is the dangerous practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolves that there will be “no conversion therapy” and “no withdrawal of rights” in their city.
- One of the most controversial promises Trump made during his campaign was his pledge to ban Muslims from entering the United States. The Board’s resolution addresses this pledge, stating that people will not be banned for their religion, and that any lists kept will be “on invitations to come pray together.”
- Trump chose former Sen. Jeff Sessions (R.-Ala.) as his attorney general, a man who was denied a federal judgeship in 1989 due to his love of the n-word. The Board of Supervisors resolves that “Black Lives Matter in San Francisco, even if they may not in the White House.”
- The President-elect once said that climate change is a “hoax” invented by the Chinese, and he appointed climate change denier Myron Ebell to head the EPA. San Francisco says, “In this city … science matters.”
- Congressional Republicans have voted over 50 times to repeal or drastically gut the Affordable Care Act. Though it doesn’t provide universal health care, the ACA did help to insure more than 20 million uninsured Americans since its passage in 2009. San Francisco provides a type of universal care to its citizens in the Healthy SF program, and the resolution states that it’s not going anywhere.
- Trump’s position on the United Nations seems to change with the wind, but Republicans have, historically, been rather opposed to the United States’ involvement in the international body. The San Francisco resolution addresses their feelings on the UN. Though a single city cannot commit the United States to remaining an integral part of the UN, they do state that they “will remain committed to internationalism.”
- Federal funds for public transit are expected to decrease significantly under Trump’s administration. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors resolves that the city will remain a “Transit First city” and that they will “continue building Muni and BART systems” that are reliable.
The conclude by stating that they refuse to be bullied by a Trump presidency, be it by the threat of revocation of federal funding or by the hate crimes that have been perpetuated by Trump supporters since the election.
The resolution from San Francisco is a nugget of hope in a dark time. Their efforts to stand up to the looming spectre of a Trump presidency should be applauded by all forward-thinking people.
Featured Image by Guian Bolisay via Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
