SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge delivers testimony during an April 20, 2021 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Biden administration's $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan. (Photo: Oliver Contreras/Pool/Getty Images)
LGBTQ Advocates Applaud HUD Reversal of Trump Anti-Trans Shelter Rule
"This is a decision that will save lives and help transgender people experiencing homelessness receive the assistance they need."
Apr 22, 2021
LGBTQ advocates on Thursday hailed a decision by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to withdraw a proposed Trump administration rule that would have allowed federally funded single-sex shelters to deny unhoused transgender people refuge in facilities matching their gender identity.
"Today, we are taking a critical step in affirming HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing or other critical services because of their gender identity. HUD is open for business for all."
--HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge
In a clear break with the previous administration's anti-transgender stance, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement that "access to safe, stable housing--and shelter--is a basic necessity."
"Unfortunately, transgender and gender-nonconforming people report more instances of housing instability and homelessness than cisgender people," she added. "Today, we are taking a critical step in affirming HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing or other critical services because of their gender identity. HUD is open for business for all."
In what was then condemned as "yet another dangerous and disgraceful attack on transgender people," the May 2019 proposal would have rolled back the Obama administration's Equal Access Rules, which aimed to provide everyone with access to safe and secure housing, "regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status."
While promoting the Trump administration's discriminatory policies during a September 2019 visit to the agency's San Francisco office, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson sparked outrage when he speculated that residents at shelters for unhoused women would be traumatized if "big, hairy men" were allowed to stay there.
The National Center for Transgender Equality called Thursday's move "a clear indication that Secretary Fudge and President [Joe] Biden are strongly committed to protecting transgender people from housing discrimination."
Center deputy executive director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen said in a statement that "the Biden administration is living up to its commitment to protect transgender people from discrimination."
"Today's announcement by Secretary Fudge is an important step in ensuring access to safe, affirming housing for transgender people," he added. "This is a decision that will save lives and help transgender people experiencing homelessness receive the assistance they need."
Dylan Waguespack, public policy and external affairs director at the LGBTQ youth advocacy group True Colors United, said that "by ending this discriminatory proposal for good, the department is righting a serious wrong."
"Whether it's homeless shelters, sports, or healthcare, supporting the safety and dignity of all young people is a central tenet to our society, regardless of who they are or who they love," asserted Waguespack. "We're thrilled to see that tenet wholeheartedly embraced by Secretary Fudge and leadership across the Biden administration."
HUD's decision is the latest move by an administration that has worked swiftly to reverse Trump's anti-LGBTQ policies.
On his first day in office, Biden signed what the Human Rights Campaign hailed as "the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity" in U.S. history, while the Department of Defense announced last month that the Trump-era prohibition on transgender troops would be lifted.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
pentagonjoe bidenhomelessnessben carsonlgbtqhousingcivil rightstrumpismhuman rights campaignhuman rights
LGBTQ advocates on Thursday hailed a decision by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to withdraw a proposed Trump administration rule that would have allowed federally funded single-sex shelters to deny unhoused transgender people refuge in facilities matching their gender identity.
"Today, we are taking a critical step in affirming HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing or other critical services because of their gender identity. HUD is open for business for all."
--HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge
In a clear break with the previous administration's anti-transgender stance, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement that "access to safe, stable housing--and shelter--is a basic necessity."
"Unfortunately, transgender and gender-nonconforming people report more instances of housing instability and homelessness than cisgender people," she added. "Today, we are taking a critical step in affirming HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing or other critical services because of their gender identity. HUD is open for business for all."
In what was then condemned as "yet another dangerous and disgraceful attack on transgender people," the May 2019 proposal would have rolled back the Obama administration's Equal Access Rules, which aimed to provide everyone with access to safe and secure housing, "regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status."
While promoting the Trump administration's discriminatory policies during a September 2019 visit to the agency's San Francisco office, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson sparked outrage when he speculated that residents at shelters for unhoused women would be traumatized if "big, hairy men" were allowed to stay there.
The National Center for Transgender Equality called Thursday's move "a clear indication that Secretary Fudge and President [Joe] Biden are strongly committed to protecting transgender people from housing discrimination."
Center deputy executive director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen said in a statement that "the Biden administration is living up to its commitment to protect transgender people from discrimination."
"Today's announcement by Secretary Fudge is an important step in ensuring access to safe, affirming housing for transgender people," he added. "This is a decision that will save lives and help transgender people experiencing homelessness receive the assistance they need."
Dylan Waguespack, public policy and external affairs director at the LGBTQ youth advocacy group True Colors United, said that "by ending this discriminatory proposal for good, the department is righting a serious wrong."
"Whether it's homeless shelters, sports, or healthcare, supporting the safety and dignity of all young people is a central tenet to our society, regardless of who they are or who they love," asserted Waguespack. "We're thrilled to see that tenet wholeheartedly embraced by Secretary Fudge and leadership across the Biden administration."
HUD's decision is the latest move by an administration that has worked swiftly to reverse Trump's anti-LGBTQ policies.
On his first day in office, Biden signed what the Human Rights Campaign hailed as "the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity" in U.S. history, while the Department of Defense announced last month that the Trump-era prohibition on transgender troops would be lifted.
LGBTQ advocates on Thursday hailed a decision by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to withdraw a proposed Trump administration rule that would have allowed federally funded single-sex shelters to deny unhoused transgender people refuge in facilities matching their gender identity.
"Today, we are taking a critical step in affirming HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing or other critical services because of their gender identity. HUD is open for business for all."
--HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge
In a clear break with the previous administration's anti-transgender stance, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement that "access to safe, stable housing--and shelter--is a basic necessity."
"Unfortunately, transgender and gender-nonconforming people report more instances of housing instability and homelessness than cisgender people," she added. "Today, we are taking a critical step in affirming HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing or other critical services because of their gender identity. HUD is open for business for all."
In what was then condemned as "yet another dangerous and disgraceful attack on transgender people," the May 2019 proposal would have rolled back the Obama administration's Equal Access Rules, which aimed to provide everyone with access to safe and secure housing, "regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status."
While promoting the Trump administration's discriminatory policies during a September 2019 visit to the agency's San Francisco office, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson sparked outrage when he speculated that residents at shelters for unhoused women would be traumatized if "big, hairy men" were allowed to stay there.
The National Center for Transgender Equality called Thursday's move "a clear indication that Secretary Fudge and President [Joe] Biden are strongly committed to protecting transgender people from housing discrimination."
Center deputy executive director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen said in a statement that "the Biden administration is living up to its commitment to protect transgender people from discrimination."
"Today's announcement by Secretary Fudge is an important step in ensuring access to safe, affirming housing for transgender people," he added. "This is a decision that will save lives and help transgender people experiencing homelessness receive the assistance they need."
Dylan Waguespack, public policy and external affairs director at the LGBTQ youth advocacy group True Colors United, said that "by ending this discriminatory proposal for good, the department is righting a serious wrong."
"Whether it's homeless shelters, sports, or healthcare, supporting the safety and dignity of all young people is a central tenet to our society, regardless of who they are or who they love," asserted Waguespack. "We're thrilled to see that tenet wholeheartedly embraced by Secretary Fudge and leadership across the Biden administration."
HUD's decision is the latest move by an administration that has worked swiftly to reverse Trump's anti-LGBTQ policies.
On his first day in office, Biden signed what the Human Rights Campaign hailed as "the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity" in U.S. history, while the Department of Defense announced last month that the Trump-era prohibition on transgender troops would be lifted.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.