Trump Administration’s Extreme Proposal on Gender: A Disgraceful Attack on Transgender People, Equality, and Justice

Following is a statement from Christine Owens, Executive Director, National Employment Law Project:

“The Trump administration’s proposal to redefine gender to exclude transgender people—as well as excluding non-binary, gender-fluid, ace, and other people—is a brutal and completely unnecessary attack on millions of members of our communities and families.

“The proposal attempts to legally erase the basic humanity of transgender people, while blatantly disregarding the established medical realities and legal rights of transgender people—all to deny transgender people equal access to health care, housing, education, and fair treatment under the law. This effort will fail—and NELP will join a broad coalition of advocates and people of good will across the nation to protect the rights of transgender people, including transgender workers, in the face of this and other hateful, extremist policies and rhetoric.

“At NELP, we believe that the promise of liberty and justice for all includes all of us and excludes none of us. We salute the tireless efforts of groups like the National Center for Transgender Equality that have, in the organization’s words, “fought rules like this one in federal and state court and won … [and] stood toe-to-toe with administrators, legislatures, and executives who would agree with this rule and yet … won.” We are honored to join together solidarity with NCTE and other transgender, non-binary, gender-fluid, and ace advocates across the country to fight this and future attacks by the Trump administration that demean individuals and communities simply for exercising the right to be who they are, and to enjoy the equal protection of our laws in doing so.

“This administration has, with horrifying speed and intensity, followed a long and shameful tradition of political actors, administrations, and ideologies that have attempted to erase the humanity of anyone outside of a small circle of those they deem acceptable. But time and again, we have seen that our fates as a nation and as a people are interconnected, that we all have a basic human right to dignity and to justice, and that the erosion of these rights for any of us threatens all of us. This administration’s latest attack on transgender people is an assault on basic principles of justice and equality. It is immoral and unconstitutional—and it cannot stand.”

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