FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2019
Contact: Shannon Minter – 415-624-6071; Email sminter@nclrights.org
(Washington, DC) Yesterday, The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a plan to roll back a rule prohibiting homeless shelters from discriminating against transgender people.
Statement from Senior Policy Counsel Tyrone Hanley:
This is an assault on vulnerable populations who need protection and support. It is shocking that a federal agency charged with enforcing federal anti-discrimination protections would permit federally funded shelters to exclude transgender people, who are already at heightened risk both of homelessness and of being turned away from emergency housing. Across this country, many transgender people have died or suffered grave injuries to their health as a result of discrimination by homeless shelters. This decision is not only cruel, it is blatantly unlawful. Transgender people have a right to equal protection of the laws, including equal treatment by government-funded shelters. NCLR played a key role in securing the current equal access rule, and we will challenge any attempt to repeal it. We urge HUD to reverse this dangerous and unlawful decision, retain the current rule, and ensure that every federally funded shelter understands it obligations to provide equal housing to transgender individuals.
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The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. www.NCLRights.org