FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2018
Contacts:
Lauren Gray, NCLR lgray@nclrights.org / (215) 983-3099
NCLR Responds to New Trump Administration Attack on Transgender People
NCLR says that “no matter what this administration orders federal agencies to do, the courts still have the authority to interpret these laws and will continue to protect transgender people”
Washington, D.C.—The New York Times this morning published an article reporting that the Trump Administration plans to revise federal regulations to ensure that federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination will not be enforced by federal agencies to protect transgender people.
National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter issued the following statement in response:
“This proposed policy is a heavy-handed attempt to strip federal legal protections from transgender people. It is part and parcel of this administration’s ongoing attempts to scapegoat vulnerable groups and to promote extremist policies rooted in stigma and stereotypes.
“The federal courts have interpreted sex discrimination laws broadly for decades in order to ensure that all forms of sex-based discrimination are prohibited, including discrimination against transgender people. This proposal is out of step with longstanding legal precedent and would create havoc in federal agencies, which are charged with enforcing the law and cannot simply disregard binding legal decisions. And no matter what this administration orders federal agencies to do, the courts still have the authority to interpret these laws and will continue to protect transgender people.
“We know that many in our community today heard this news and are afraid. We want to assure our transgender family members that NCLR and many other civil and human rights organizations will fight this policy and, just as important, will continue to advocate for transgender students, employees, health care patients and other transgender people. We have fought similar battles and won. We can and will defeat this together.”
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The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) was the first national LGBTQ legal organization founded by a women and brings a fierce, longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and our community’s most vulnerable. Since 1977, we have been at the forefront of advancing the civil and human rights of LGBTQ people and their families through impact litigation, public policy, and public education. Decades ago, NCLR launched the first LGBTQ Immigration Project, Transgender Rights Project, Youth Project, Elder Law Project, and began working to end conversion therapy through what is now our Born Perfect campaign. www.nclrights.org