Sen. Alex Padilla paid a visit to San Francisco's LGBTQ community center Wednesday to roll out what he's calling the Senate's first-ever mental health caucus.
The move comes as many leaders say the community is increasingly under attack, both physically and through legislation aimed at the trans community.
Padilla said California is one of the safe haven states that many families are moving to as some other states pass laws restricting trans healthcare, drag performances and even ban the word gay in certain school lesson plans.
"That's one of the reasons why I'm proud to represent California, because we are the model, we are the beacon," Padilla said.
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But San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and Rebecca Rolf with the San Francisco LGBT Center say the city and the Bay Area in general are not immune to some of the hateful rhetoric and even physical violence.
"I know that many of the organizations in the Bay Area, particularly organizations that serve youth and serve trans folks, have really been targeted with explicit threats of violence," Rolf said.
Earlier this month, two men walking together near Hartford and 18th streets in the Castro reported being attacked by a 20-year-old man.
According to police and the district attorney's office, Mohamed Abdulah was following the pair and yelling gay slurs at them. He also apparently threw a glass object at one of them. He was later arrested a few blocks away at Dolores Park with the help of the two victims
Abdulah is facing several charges, including two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, both of which include a hate crime enhancement, according to the district attorney's office.
Abdullah is being represented by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. In a prepared statement, Deputy Public Defender wrote in part, “We believe this case is overcharged, and we’re confident that once are able to gather and present more information, the hate crime allegation will be dismissed.”
According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta's recent report on hate crimes across the state, reported hate crimes against LGBTQ communities jumped 29% last year.
