San Francisco officials are being sued by a group of residents over a supposed “illegal” initiative that offers government funds to low-income transgender individuals who are mainly black and Latino males transitioning to female. The initiative known as the “Guaranteed Income for Trans People (GIFT) Program” was announced in November 2022 by Democratic Mayor London Breed, who is also named in the lawsuit.
The program, which is being challenged as unconstitutional due to its preferential treatment, provides eligible transgender San Franciscans with a monthly stipend of $1,200 for up to 18 months.
Legal nonprofit organization Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit on behalf of several plaintiffs, arguing that spending taxpayer money on the GIFT program infringes upon the California Constitution. The suit includes defendants like Breed; José Cisneros, the treasurer of San Francisco city and county; John Doe, the director of the Office of Transgender Initiatives; and Carmen Chu, city administrator.
The plaintiffs in the case are alleging that the GIFT program amounts to racial and sexual discrimination since it’s only available to a specific group and are calling for an injunction to prevent the city from using taxpayer funds for the program. To date, no public comment has been received from the named defendants.