A St Albans councillor has said that a motion supporting transgender people was “silenced” at a meeting yesterday (Wednesday, 16 July).
Liberal Democrat councillors Harriet Sherlock and Sinéad Howland had put forward a motion calling on the council to state a belief that “trans women are women” and “trans men are men”.
But a large majority of councillors backed a move by the mayor, Teresa Heritage, to prevent the motion being debated and voted on last night. It will instead be considered at the next meeting of the council’s housing and inclusion committee.
Cllr Howland said the move showed the motion was being “silenced”, while Cllr Sherlock asked the mayor: “What message do you think it sends to a vilified and victimised group of our residents that we’re not prepared to discuss a motion that affects them so deeply at full council?”
If passed, the motion would commit the council to ensuring that it “continues to be a welcoming and inclusive place for the LGBTQ+ community” and to a range of measures such as “publicly marking and promoting” the Trans Day of Visibility and the Trans Day of Remembrance.
It comes after the Supreme Court ruled in April that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.
The Equality Act 2010 continues to include gender reassignment as a protected characteristic, and Supreme Court judge Lord Hodge said their judgement should not be seen “as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.
Cllr Howland said: “This motion does not attempt to rewrite the law; it does not change the legal definition of sex.
“What it does is express a moral and political statement: that we recognise and respect trans people in our district.
“It is a statement of inclusion, not a legal reclassification.
“This motion does not threaten women’s rights. It’s not a zero sum game.”
Cllr Sherlock said passing the motion would be “a symbolic and inclusive statement of identity”.
She said: “We’re not asking for a plethora of new initiatives; we’re not even asking for additional funding.
“What we want to do is to celebrate what we’re already doing well, to ensure that a section of our community is considered, involved, respected and protected from discrimination, marginalisation, othering and exclusion.
“My motivation to bring this motion to council is both political and personal.
“I am the mother of a trans woman. My daughter is one of the brightest people I know. Funny, fiercely loyal … my proud mum list could go on and on.
“My point is that who my daughter is is so much more than her gender or her sexual orientation.
“However, because of the dark and stormy political climate that she and other trans folk in this country find themselves in, her life is pretty much on hold.
“She cannot see a future where she will be accepted for who she is and what she has to offer without fear of prejudice, discrimination or assault.”
Cllr Sherlock pointed to a study that had surveyed trans people and concluded that 48 per cent of them had attempted suicide and 84 per cent had considered suicide.
“These suicide statistics for the trans community are tragic, but they are avoidable,” she said.
“They are not so high because, as some will have you believe, being transgender is a mental illness.
“Instead, the lives of these people have been made a living hell and intolerable.”
Forty councillors voted to refer the motion to the housing and inclusion committee, with nine voting against and two choosing to abstain.
The committee’s next meeting is in September.
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