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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.
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Ocasio-Cortez Amendment Takes Aim at 'Racist, Classist' Attack on Fair Housing by Trump
"We must hinder President Trump's efforts to segregate communities and to discriminate against Black and Brown homeowners and renters."
Jul 30, 2020
Two amendments introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that would stop the White House's push to override regulations aimed at reducing segregation in U.S. housing are receiving renewed attention after the congresswoman fired back at President Donald Trump Wednesday for a pair of tweets she termed "racist, classist nonsense."
"We must hinder President Trump's efforts to segregate communities and to discriminate against Black and Brown homeowners and renters," Ocasio-Cortez told Bloomberg CityLab later Wednesday. "We cannot return to the days of redlining and white flight."
Trump and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson on July 23 introduced a rule meant to roll back Obama-era rules on enforcing a key provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing mandate.
In order to thwart the administration's effort, Bloomberg explained:
The Bronx congresswoman has introduced a pair of amendments to an appropriations bill before Congress that would defund this rule as well as another rule before they can take effect. The legislation would prevent any federal funds from being used to implement or adopt the new rules proposed under Housing Secretary Ben Carson, effectively nullifying them.
If her amendments proceed, Ocasio-Cortez will deliver a setback to Trump, who has made housing segregation a plank in his campaign pitch to voters whom he identifies as the "Suburban Housewives of America."
As Common Dreams reported, Trump's tweets on the suburbs and fair housing Wednesday came in for substantial criticism, with critics decrying the implicit racism behind the comments.
"This is blatant racism from the President of the United States," tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). "And it's disgusting."
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'Racist, Classist Garbage': Trump Brags to Suburbia About His Repeal of Housing Desegregation Rule
"This is blatant racism from the President of the United States," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "And it's disgusting."
Jul 29, 2020
In a pair of tweets one advocacy group denounced as "racist, classist garbage," President Donald Trump on Wednesday boasted that he is working to prevent construction of low-income housing in the suburbs by repealing an Obama-era rule aimed at combating persistent racial segregation in those communities.
"I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low-income housing built in your neighborhood," Trump tweeted. "Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!"
"Words can't quite capture how outrageous and racist this is. Trump and Ben Carson have worked hand in glove to obstruct and destroy decades of work to promote fair housing in our country."
--Kristen Clarke, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Trump was referring to the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, an addition to the 1968 Fair Housing Act that required cities and towns receiving federal funding to document and develop plans to redress racial housing segregation.
In 2018, Trump's Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson suspended the Obama-era rule. Last Thursday, HUD announced it is replacing the AFFH with a new regulatory framework (pdf) that would allow localities to monitor their own compliance with fair housing laws. The new rules are set to take effect next month.
"Words can't quite capture how outrageous and racist this is," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in response to the president's tweets Wednesday. "Trump and Ben Carson have worked hand in glove to obstruct and destroy decades of work to promote fair housing in our country."
"On this latest move," Clarke added, "we will see the administration in court."
With the 2020 presidential election a mere three months away, critics like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) characterized Trump's tweets as the president's most recent racist dog whistle aimed at white suburban voters he believes would be comforted by such messaging.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll last month showed Trump trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden 35% to 60% among suburban voters.
The New York Times reported earlier this month that "Trump and his campaign team, already concerned about his weakness in battleground states, have become increasingly alarmed by internal polling showing a softening of support among suburban voters, especially women without college degrees."
"The Suburban Housewives of America must read this article," Trump tweeted last week, linking to a New York Post column by right-wing commentator Betsy McCaughey. "Biden will destroy your neighborhood and your American Dream. I will preserve it, and make it even better!"
Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said in a statement last week that Trump's rescission of the AFFH rule is an "abhorrent" attempt to "use a critical fair housing tool for election year race-baiting, particularly during a time of reckoning for racial injustices."
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