White House Reverses Trump Policy Discriminating Against Trans Homeless People
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Thursday that transgender people will be shielded from discrimination in homeless shelters that receive federal funding, rescinding a proposal made by the Trump administration in July that would have allowed shelters to turn away trans people.
Access to safe, stable housing and shelter is a basic necessity, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement. Unfortunately, transgender and gender non-conforming people report more instances of housing instability and homelessness than cis-gender people. Today, we are taking a critical step in affirming HUDs 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.
The agency said it will fully uphold the 2016 Equal Access Rule guaranteeing LGBTQ+ people equal access to federally funded shelters and facilities. The Trump administration proposal that would have allowed shelters to turn away trans people was supposed to go into effect this month. However, HUD effectively voided it in February when President Joe Biden halted all last-minute Trump administration maneuvers, including the proposed rule change.
LGBTQ+ advocates widely cheered Thursdays HUD annoucenemt, saying it was confirmation that Biden and Fudge are staying good on the administrations promise to protect trans people against housing discrimination.