WASHINGTON, DC – The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) strongly supports the decision announced today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) not to finalize a rule proposed by the Trump administration that would have allowed taxpayer-funded homeless shelters to discriminate against transgender people. The rule that HUD officially rescinded today would have allowed these shelters to deny transgender individuals access to single-sex shelters.

“We are thrilled to see today’s announcement, which is further confirmation that this administration is committed to ensuring that LGBTQ people are not turned away from federally-funded services and programs,” said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (he/him). “Access to homeless shelters is often a matter of survival for trans people, who are more likely to be homeless, to lack secure housing, and to be the victims of domestic violence.

With its proposal last year to permit shelters to turn away transgender people experiencing homelessness, the prior administration sought to undo one of the most important rules adopted by the Obama administration to ensure that federally-funded shelters are accessible to all who need them. That attempt to authorize discrimination by shelters elicited overwhelming opposition, and under new leadership the agency has now jettisoned that dangerous proposal for good. We look forward to a continued partnership with the administration to ensure that federal sex discrimination protections are implemented throughout the federal government.”

Today’s decision by HUD to rescind the previous administration’s anti-transgender rule follows a comment period where tens of thousands of Americans submitted letters to the Department opposing the proposed rule that would have put the lives of countless transgender people in jeopardy.

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The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding, NCLR has maintained a longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and the LGBTQ community’s most vulnerable. https://www.nclrights.org