Hello friend,
From early on in the Trump-Pence administration, one thing has been clear: transgender folks are a target. And this latest attack is among the worst yet.
This past July, the Trump-Pence Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a regulation that will drastically undermine protections for transgender and gender non-conforming people served by HUD programs.
As proposed, this regulation equips emergency shelters with a list of ways to turn away members of marginalized communities, especially transgender people, during a global pandemic.
Join HRC today in flooding HUD with comments in opposition to this rule. Take a moment and submit yours — the more we have, the better our chances to stop this discriminatory policy.
Federal agencies have a responsibility to ensure programs are accessible to everyone who is eligible, but Trump and Pence are only interested in finding ways to facilitate discrimination against vulnerable communities.
Here are the facts:
- Nearly a third of transgender and non-binary people experience homelessness during their lifetime, including half of those who are Black, Middle Eastern, Multiracial, and/or undocumented immigrants. These are the people who will suffer under this rule.
- One study by the Center for American Progress and the Equal Rights Center determined that only 30% of shelters across four states would house trans women with other women and a fifth of those shelters would turn them away entirely.
- Among those who stayed in a shelter, 25% reported being physically assaulted there, and nearly as many (22%) reported being sexually assaulted by either another resident or a shelter staff member.
- 2020 is rapidly becoming one of the deadliest years for transgender and gender non-conforming folks. As of September 15, at least 26 folks have been killed in the growing epidemic of violence disproportionately targeting Black trans women.
If this rule goes into effect, we aren’t talking about “if” someone will be unjustly thrown out of a shelter and into harm’s way … we are talking about “when.” We cannot allow this rule to put one life in jeopardy.
Submit your comment in opposition to this baseless HUD rule today and help us hit 10,000 comments in the next few days before the deadline.
Together, our voices are stronger. Will you send your comment?
In solidarity,
Robin Knauer Maril
