Group hosts 'detransitioner panel' at La Fonda as counterprotesters gather outside

It was one piece of a sometimes-tense scene Thursday night outside La Fonda on the Plaza. As the hotel prepared to host a "detransitioners panel" — featuring perspectives from six people who initiated a gender transition before halting or reversing the process — a few dozen counterprotesters, including Hernandez, marched outside, chanting slogans like "Trans rights are human rights" and "Boycott La Fonda." 

The panel was sponsored in part by the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance, a group founded in 2020 "which advocates for civil liberties and constitutional representative government," according to its website. The organization has in the past been active in advocating against mask mandates and calling for restricted access to certain books in school libraries.

Alliance co-leader Sarah Smith said the event — hosted symbolically in the state's capital — was intended to raise awareness about the "buyer's remorse" experienced by some young people who transition. 

"I'm hoping that more people will be able to then think a little bit more carefully about this issue because the risks of this type of health care are really being downplayed," Smith said in an interview.

The counterprotesters — which included members of Rainbow Liberation ABQ and Santa Fe Democratic Socialists of America — and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, meanwhile, framed the event as a means of delegitimizing transgender experiences and spreading misinformation. 

"Santa Fe is an inclusive, beautiful city where people should feel safe and welcomed, and misinformation is not something that is good for our community," said City Councilor Alma Castro, who joined the counterprotest.

Thursday night's event was one of several panels organized across the U.S. by Partners for Ethical Care, a Chicago-based organization that advocates against the "unethical treatment of children … under the duplicitous banner of gender identity affirmation," according to its website. The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified Partners for Ethical Care as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group.

Local chapters of the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty — which currently exist in San Juan and Bernalillo counties — were not involved in organizing the event, Smith said, though other Moms for Liberty chapters have sponsored similar events elsewhere.

The transition process is as unique as the individual transitioning, said Michael Trimm, executive director of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico. It can include medical interventions — such as hormone-related medications and surgeries — as well as legal and social changes, like using different pronouns or updating the gender listed on government documents.

And when it comes to making decisions on whether, when and how to take those steps, Trimm said, "The best practice is to allow young people, their families and their medical providers to make decisions that are best for that individual."

Data shows most people who transition do not regret it. A 2021 review published in the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons — which pooled the results of 27 studies and 7,928 transgender patients — found that the pooled prevalence was 1%. 

"An overwhelming majority of transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people find higher life satisfaction in whatever steps they take as part of their own gender journey," Trimm said.

Nonetheless, Smith said she worries the current atmosphere in New Mexico will allow youth to receive gender-affirming care without consulting the adults in their life. 

In particular, Smith points to House Bill 7. Passed in 2023, the law prohibits public institutions — including "school districts and institutions of higher education" — from restricting access to abortions or gender-affirming health care.

Smith interprets the law as "allowing children to access transgender care without parental consent or notification." The law doesn't mention parental notification one way or the other.

"When you read it, it's not super clear what it means," Smith said. "But if you read between the lines and what it doesn't say, there are a lot of potential really big problems with it."

Trimm said that's not happening, as did Kevin Bowen, the executive director of Santa Fe's Human Rights Alliance, who called the notion that school-based health care workers are performing surgeries on students — which is a claim former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump has made on the campaign trail — "beyond preposterous."

Though the Human Rights Alliance, which coordinates local Pride events, did not organize the counterprotest, Bowen said events like the panel use "scare tactics" to turn people against the LGBTQ+ community.

"Creating an atmosphere for children that tells them that they are being bad or not normal or they should be ashamed of what they're thinking or feeling causes much more harm for children than anything else," Bowen said.

Before closing time, the Señor Murphy Candymaker shop in La Fonda was shut.

A sign on the door, positioned next to a small Pride flag, explained why: "Closed early due to safety concerns from the controversial event. Back to normal tomorrow!"

In addition to shuttering some businesses earlier than usual, the event and its counterprotest left some at La Fonda in a tight spot. 

Partners for Ethical Care reached out to the hotel months ago to book a space, and La Fonda officials sent back a contract without knowing the group is considered an anti-LGBTQ+ group, said Rik Blyth, president of the La Fonda Hospitality Group. 

After receiving some pushback about hosting the event, the hotel sought legal advice, which recommended it allow the event to proceed, Blyth added.

For some at La Fonda, that meant allowing the event to proceed despite it being contrary to their personal opinions. 

"This is an anathema to me," said Jennifer Kimball, the hotel's board chairman emerita, said of allowing the panel to go forward. 

But, she added, "That's me as a person. As an owner of La Fonda and as an employee of La Fonda, I am neutral."

The lesson learned from all of this, Kimball said: "We need to be doing more background research."