Gay and immigrants’ rights activists gathered outside City Hall yesterday to express anger at Mayor Gavin Newsom’s self-imposed delay in implementing the city’s municipal identification card program. Originally slated to begin next month, Newsom announced in August the suspension of the plan pending a thorough review of possible state and federal legal consequences.

The rally was organized by the Queer Youth Leadership Project, a group affiliated with San Francisco Pride at Work—an AFL-CIO group. Josue Argüelles, a member of the leadership project, told the crowd of 40 why the ID program, and the Sanctuary City policies in general, are important to him.

“Moving here six years ago as a gay Latino, I would not imagine standing here now, seeing the very essence of the reasons I came here be threatened,” said Argüelles. “The Mayor and the City want to chip away our sanctuary policy and halt a very vital program that communities need and depend on. They are menacing the communities of our youth and our generation. I say this is our city, we live in it, we work in it, and we are sure as hell not going to stand aside and watch them destroy it.”

Also speaking at Tuesday’s rally, Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who introduced the original legislation, challenged Newsom’s review of the program.

“As long as I am here, the municipal ID card program is going forward, no delay … as a matter of social justice,” he said. “The federal government and the state government is dithering around these issues. San Francisco wants to … respect the dignity of our immigrant population—documented or undocumented—in terms of influencing all our public policies.”

The program, which would provide ID cards to all San Francisco residents regardless of their immigration status, proposes a resolution to what Ammiano said is a “serious public safety issue.” According to his office, obtaining identification can be difficult—especially for seniors, youths, immigrants, transgender individuals and the homeless.

Ammiano believes the lack of government-issued ID has created an environment where persons without identification are reluctant to report crimes, and further are a target for criminals because they lack the identification needed to open a bank account, and are required to keep cash “on their person or in their home.”

Joining him at the rally were Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, Chris Daly and Gerardo Sandoval. Also in attendance were representatives of State Senator Carole Migden, and members of various community organizations—including The Transgender Law Center, El/La for Trans Latinas and La Raza Centro Legal.

“San Francisco, whether we want it or not, is a model and example to cities and counties in the rest of the country,” said Renee Saucedo of La Raza Centro Legal. “This is the moment for us to stand together and strongly say ‘We passed our laws, we are proud of them, and damn it, we are going to implement them as soon as possible.’”