Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Friday signed an executive order legalizing gender-affirming care for the transgender community. This happened just a month after the Ohio House of Representatives introduced a bill limiting medical care for transgender children under 18.

The order defines “gender-affirming healthcare” as all services, supplies, drug therapies, and other care that an individual may receive to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity. The order contains several protection measures that protect gender-affirming care for the transgender community. These measures include not restricting access to gender-affirming healthcare, bans insurance exclusions for gender-affirming healthcare, requires coverage of gender-affirming healthcare by state Medicaid, and requires city personnel not to enforce laws of or respond to requests for information regarding gender-affirming care from other jurisdictions.

In response to the order, City Council President Andrea Jenkins stated:

I am proud to support this executive order, especially in light of the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies and hate crimes we are experiencing in our country and state right now. As we consider our work and our future at the City of Minneapolis, it’s important to focus on intentional policies and practices, including demonstrating and stewarding safe access to gender-affirming healthcare. As we know, yesterday was World AIDS Day; consider how different the impacts would have been had we addressed the healthcare needs of the LGBTQ+ community. This executive order puts us at the front of the curve instead of behind the ball.