Remarks made ahead of vote to make Mass. city an LGBT ‘sanctuary’
A female pastor blasphemed Jesus as a “drag queen,” and a trans activist appeared to make threats of violence during a city council meeting in Massachusetts following federal changes that limit legal recognition of transgender identities.
The apparent threat came during a Worcester City Council meeting before the board voted 9-2 on Feb. 12 to designate the city as a sanctuary for trans and “gender-diverse” people.
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Worcester, located about 35 miles west of Boston, is the second-biggest city by population in the state, with just over 200,000 residents.
The resolution, titled “Sanctuary City for Transgender and Gender Diverse People,” prevents the city from cooperating with federal or state policies deemed harmful to trans-identified individuals and ensures access to healthcare, housing, education and employment without discrimination.
While critics have argued the resolution defies federal law and fails to protect youth, approximately 200 people, activists and residents, showed up for the council meeting to support the resolution, many of them speaking out — some even singing — during the five-hour public meeting.
Among those who spoke out in favor of the resolution was Julie Payne-Britton, a pastor at the Hadwen Park Congregational Church, which is affiliated with the progressive United Church of Christ. Payne-Britton, who identifies as a disabled, cisgender lesbian, sported a clerical collar as she told council members that if Jesus were at the meeting, He would be “dressed in full drag.”
“The Jesus I know would be dressed in full drag and serving face, or handsome as a trans man, or wrapped in the garb of a non-binary person who knows one gender is way too small to capture their gloriousness,” Payne-Britton claimed. “The Jesus I know would be at this mic with a trembling voice and a shaking body and tears that will not be held back crying, ‘make this city safe for my child.’”
“The Jesus I know would be dressed in full drag.” The enlightened clergy have no problem with a state-established religion. pic.twitter.com/tMMxKCLT8G
— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) February 13, 2025
Another speaker, a blue-haired, white-gloved man in drag who identified as “Dee Dee Delight” spoke about being “afraid” of President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring federal agencies to recognize only two sexes — male and female — and a second order prohibiting trans medical operations for anyone younger than 19.
“I need the city to protect me because the federal government won’t. And if you think you’re afraid of Trump, you should see how afraid of Trump I am,” the speaker said.
After identifying as “multiply disabled,” the speaker, standing in front of a sign that read “Silence = death,” issued what appeared to be a threat against the council.
“If you say you’re afraid of Trump and that’s why you don’t want the city to be a safe space for [trans] people, you better prepare for [trans] people to make this a very unsafe space,” said the person.
A short time later, a black female activist warned the council about “strong, queer” transgender-identified people who “will collect you with the quickness.”
Another activist wearing a wig screamed at the city council, “How many of my friends have to die before you do anything?”
“Let us remember that the Nazis burned books on gender sciences first,” another man said. “Now the administration has villainized and marginalized migrant workers, LGBT people, and even special needs, denying lifesaving and affirming care.”
Leading up to the 2024 presidential election that he ultimately won, the Trump campaign named the goal of working to “stop the chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation of our youth” as one of its major policy proposals. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to “ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures” and “pass a law prohibiting child mutilation in all 50 states.”
