This month, the Trump administration released a new rule that would allow homeless shelters to turn away trans people on the basis of religious objection. Last week, the rule, which explained how staff at shelters could “spot” a trans person, generated strong backlash after it was made public.
On July 1, Secretary Ben Carson partnered with the Trump administration to repeal the 2012 Equal Access Rule that protected discrimination against transgender people in homeless shelters. The most recent version of the rule ensured “equal” access for individuals in accordance with their gender identity in programs and shelter funded under programs administered by HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD).” Repealing the Equal Access Rule would allow shelters to deny individuals housing based on their gender identity alone and is the latest policy by the current administration to deny trans people basic rights.
According to Secretary Ben Carson, repealing the act would, “better accommodate religious beliefs of shelter providers.”
Among other things, the rule spelled out how staff at shelters could tell that someone was trans. If the rule is implemented, the HUD would allow staff to take into account “factors such as height, the presence (but not the absence) of facial hair, the presence of an Adam’s apple, and other physical characteristics which, when considered together, are indicative of a person’s biological sex.”
The memo is unequivocally transphobic, misogynistic and would allow shelters to turn away homeless people based on highly subjective criteria.
In March 2019, Representative Jennifer Wexton asked Secretary Ben Carson if he was planning to change the Equal Access Rule.
“We don’t know what we’re going to do in the future,” he answered.
One day after @SecretaryCarson told me he isn’t anticipating any changes to protections for LGBTQ people in shelters, HUD announced a proposal to gut that very rule.
He either lied to Congress or has no idea what policies his agency is pursuing. Either way, it’s unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/zn99sEKvth
— Rep. Jennifer Wexton (@RepWexton) May 22, 2019
According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, one in five transgender individuals will experience homelessness at some point in their lives. Trans Black, Brown and Indigenous people need housing more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attacks like the ones by Carson and the Trump Administration serve to hurt and invalidate those who are already the most vulnerable in the current healthcare system.
