Several San Francisco residents are suing city officials over an allegedly “illegal” program that provides taxpayer funds to black and Latino biological men who “identify as females.”
In November 2022, Democratic Mayor London Breed, who is listed as a defendant, announced the “Guaranteed Income for Trans People (GIFT) Program,” which provides “low-income transgender San Franciscans with $1,200 each month, up to 18 months to help address financial insecurity within trans communities,” according to a press release. Judicial Watch, a nonprofit legal group, filed the suit on behalf of several plaintiffs Monday against Breed, arguing the program is unconstitutional because of its “preferential treatment.” (RELATED: Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Quietly Waging Legal Battle To Overturn Rule Barring Olympic Eligibility)
“Specifically, Plaintiffs contend that any expenditure of taxpayer funds or taxpayer-financed resources on the GIFT program is illegal under Article 1, section 7 of the California Constitution because the program’s grant of preferential treatment to biological males who identify as females is immediately suspect and presumptively invalid and cannot survive strict scrutiny review,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit named Breed, José Cisneros, treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco, John Doe, the executive director of the Office of Transgender Initiatives of the City and County of San Francisco, and Carmen Chu, city administrator of the City and County of San Francisco, as defendants.
A woman holds up a sign that protests violence against transgender people while participating in the San Francisco Pride parade in San Francisco, California on Sunday, June 26, 2016. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
The GIFT program initially opened to 55 applicants and provided an income as well as access to “gender-affirming medical and mental health care,” according to Breed’s press release. The funds were first distributed in January 2023 and will continue through 2024, according to the program’s website.
Undocumented individuals can also apply to the program if they meet the other criteria, according to the website.
“We know that our trans communities experience much higher rates of poverty and discrimination, so this program will target support to lift individuals in this community up,” Breed said in a statement.
The plaintiffs allege that the program is little more than racial and sexual discrimination since only transgender minorities can apply and asked the court to enjoin the city from using taxpayer dollars to fund the program, according to the complaint.
“The transgender extremists running San Francisco are illegally using taxpayer money to hand out free cash to transgender individuals based on race and sex in blatant violation of the state’s constitution,” President Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said in a press release.
Breed, Cisneros and Chu did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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