City council declares Bloomington a ‘safe haven’ for gender-affirming healthcare

Bloomington’s city council has declared the municipality a “safe haven” for gender-affirming healthcare.

The 8–0 vote on the resolution came at the council’s regular meeting on Wednesday night. The tally did not come to 9, because Isak Asare was absent.

The resolution will need Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson’s signature to count as enacted, but had mayoral support ahead of the council’s vote, in the form of a letter from Thomson.

The unanimous vote among those present was a bit unexpected, given a memo submitted by councilmembers Dave Rollo and Andy Ruff on Tuesday as an information packet addendum.  In the memo, the two indicated their intent to abstain on the vote, citing a need for more clarity on the question of gender-affirming healthcare for minors.

Gender-affirming healthcare includes medical treatments, like hormone therapy and surgical procedures, as well as mental health support, and social services to help people align their physical appearance with their gender identity​.

The memo from Rollo and Ruff concludes: “It is a serious matter, however, to support a policy that may be harming, not helping children.”

In city council chambers, after the roll call vote, the several dozen supporters of the resolution gave the unanimous vote sustained applause.

The packet addendum  submitted by Rollo and Ruff includes an article by Mia Hughes, written for Environmental Progress. Hughes has been linked by Transgender Map to anti-trans groups.

Even though Ruff and Rollo came around to vote yes on the resolution, Matt Flaherty, who co-sponsored the resolution with Courtney Daily,  said that they had done damage with their memo and meeting packet addendum.

About the idea of using the council’s information packet as a place to file materials opposing a resolution, Flaherty put it like this: “This was a significant departure from council norms. I think it did cause harm in our community.”

Rollo led off his remarks on Wednesday night by thanking those who came to speak in support of the resolution, many of whom were transgender people. Rollo acknowledged that it was a difficult context in which to speak.

Rollo described himself and Ruff as “strong supporters of the LGBTQ community and equal rights for everyone, and having repeatedly taken positions consistently against discrimination.”

Rollo’s comments drew much of their content from the written memo, and started off sounding like he would follow through on abstaining. But towards the conclusion, Rollo’s message shifted: “I also take issue with the direction the state has taken, that is punitive, and seems on the road to criminalizing gender affirming care.”

“What is needed,” Rollo said, “is a thorough review of information that has come to light in the past few years by our medical establishment, so that best practices are followed, not outright banning.” Rollo added, “I’m in no position to argue with the AMA or the American Pediatric Association and so forth. That is their position. And I honor that.”

In his remarks, Ruff said his hesitancy came from the short timeline the council was given to review and consider the resolution. Ruff described meeting with a couple with a child who has transitioned—but that meeting had not happened until the previous night.

“We spent two and a half hours discussing their journey—the journey they had, and the journey their child had, transitioning.” Ruff described the meeting as “very informative, very moving—just exactly the kind of information I wanted to have the opportunity to talk to folks about, but did not have anywhere near that time.”

The Bloomington city council resolution came in part a response to SB 480,  which was passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2023. The law prohibits physicians from providing gender-affirming treatments or procedures to minors. State senator Shelli Yoder, who represents District 40, which includes Bloomington, was one of 12 senators who voted against the bill.

Speaking from the public mic, Bloomington’s elected city clerk Nicole Bolden used part of her time to read aloud a statement from Yoder: “I urge all council members to stand with our transgender residents and declare that they are valued and welcome members of our community who deserve the dignity of access to all necessary health care.”

Yoder’s statement continued, “Bloomington has a long history of being welcoming and treating people better than the state legislature. And I urge our counselors to vote tonight to uphold that history by supporting the resolution.”

Another elected official who addressed the council from the public mic was Jennifer Crossley, who serves on the Monroe County council, and works as a deputy city clerk. But Crossley introduced herself in the role that she said she is proudest of—”the role of being a mom, one of the shortest, fiercest mama bears you’ll ever meet.”

Crossley continued, “I am a mom to a proud and out queer teenager. And that teenager also has lots of trans friends who…cannot be here tonight because of fear, because of retaliation… ”

Crossley wrapped up saying, “I urge you, as a community resident,…to pass this resolution.”

The city council’s resolution originated with the Bloomington-Monroe County human rights commission (HRC), which recommended passing it.

Speaking from the public mic, HRC president Ryne Shadday took Rollo and Ruff to task, reminding them that they were part of the unanimous city council vote that approved Ordinance 06-07, which added “gender identity” as a class protected against discrimination in the city.

Speaking from the public mic on behalf of the Monroe County Democratic Party (MCDP), deputy chair Sam Ujdak urged councilmembers to support the resolution, based on 20 years of peer-reviewed research.

Ujdak alluded to Rollo and Ruff’s intent to abstain by saying, “As a 32-year-old adult queer man, who found the courage to come out four days ago, it’s a little unbelievable that we’re even having a conversation about anybody abstaining from this, opposing it or anything in between.”

Ujdak continued, “Speaking as a private citizen who is a resident in the heart of District 4, I am forced to question what constituency the councilmembers opposing this resolution believe they’re even representing.” Rollo represents District 4.

Ujdak wrapped up, saying, “My city, my county, and my community, affirm our moral obligation to one core responsibility: Protect trans kids.” The following day, the MCDP issued a news release applauding the unanimous vote.

On Wednesday night, sentiment in favor of the resolution was nearly but not perfectly unanimous. Speaking against it was Bloomington resident Carole Canfield, who began by saying, “I am first and foremost accountable to a holy God, who demands I speak truth. So that is what I will do.”

Canfield continued saying, “You can fool yourself thinking you’re the sex you’re not, just because you’re taking hormones and chopping off your genitals. But the DNA does not change. All of your cells know you are male or female as God designed them.”

During Canfield’s remarks, Bloomington city clerk Nicole Bolden and deputy clerk Jennifer Crossley swiveled in their chairs to turn their backs to Canfield.