Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carsonspoke Tuesday about transgender individuals’ access to homeless shelters, saying women “were not comfortable” being in a shelter with “somebody who had a very different anatomy.”
“[We] obviously believe in equal rights for everybody, including the LGBT community. But we also believe in equal rights for the women in the shelters, and shelters where there are men and their equal rights,” Carson responded. “So we want to look at things that really provide for everybody and doesn’t impede the rights of one for the sake of the other. So it’s a complex issue.”
When Quigley then asked how protecting the rights of transgender homeless individuals would infringe on the rights of others, Carson replied, “I’ll give you an example. There were some women who said they were not comfortable with the idea of being in a shelter, being in a shower, and somebody who had a very different anatomy,” Carson said.
On Tuesday, LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD denounced Carson’s statements in a release, saying it perpetuated a “derogatory myth” about the presence of transgender people threatening others’ safety.
“It is because of derogatory myths like this, which have been debunked time and time again, that the transgender community faces disproportionate levels of discrimination and homelessness,” GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis said. “Today’s blatant and factually inaccurate anti-transgender rhetoric is the latest in a long line of uninformed and biased statements about LGBTQ people that make Dr. Carson unfit to be the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
Last year, HUD removed guidelines from its website meant to provide training to homeless shelters on how to ensure equal access to transgender people, Newsweek reported earlier this year. In March, activists filed a lawsuit against HUD seeking documents to determine whether the Trump administration was directing federal agencies to undermine efforts to protect LGBTQ Americans.
In July 2017, a group of Democratic senators wrote in a letter to Carson that the removal of the HUD resources around LGBTQ rights was “concerning,” and asked that the agency restore them to its website.
Nearly one-third of transgender Americans have experienced homelessness at one point in their lifetime, according to a 2015 survey of transgender people in the U.S. What’s more, 70 percent of transgender respondents who had stayed in homeless shelters reported being mistreated, including being harassed, sexually or physically assaulted, or kicked out because of being transgender.
Carson’s remarks at the House subcommittee hearing were the latest in a series of anti-LGBTQ statements from the Housing secretary. In November 2015, then-presidential candidate Carson said that transgender people should have separate bathrooms because they “make everybody else uncomfortable.” Earlier that same year, Carson said in a CNN interview that being gay was “absolutely” a choice, “because a lot of people ... go into prison straight ― and when they come out, they’re gay.”
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The Los Angeles LGBT Center
“All students deserve the dignity of being free from harassment and discrimination, including use of the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identities. Refusing to protect our most vulnerable youth is deplorable and dangerous. This is another clear signal of the Trump administration’s intent to rollback protections for LGBT people." -- Los Angeles LGBT Center Director of Public Policy And Community Building Dave Garcia
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
“The withdrawal of this guidance is a devastating step back for transgender students, who today are receiving the message that the federal government will not vigorously defend their right to an education. This unfortunate reversal of protections reflects crass, unprincipled political pandering. The American people support fairness and equal treatment of all students and do not think vulnerable young people should be made pawns of a political drama being played out by the current administration." -- GLAD's Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer L. Levi
GLAAD
“Transgender youth face extremely high rates of discrimination and bullying. By rescinding the Department of Education guidance recommending trans students be treated equally under Title IX, the administration is sending an alarming message that it will no longer defend their rights. While this action does not and cannot take away any rights trans students currently have, it undermines the progress we have made towards equality and acceptance.” -- GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis
GLSEN
"While the Trump administration may abandon transgender students, GLSEN won’t. And neither will the thousands of teachers, administrators and parents around the country who work with GLSEN and our local chapters to ensure that transgender students everywhere have the opportunity to simply be themselves and live better lives. Schools, leaders and teachers must do the right thing and give all students the chance in life they deserve." -- Dr. Eliza Byard, GLSEN Executive Director
Physicians for Reproductive Health
“As an organization that cares deeply about adolescent health, we think it’s unacceptable to reverse a guidance that is meant to protect children who already face significant challenges to their well-being. Transgender children are often rejected by their family and peers, harassed, traumatized and abused, and are at a higher risk for depression and suicide. Discouraging or punishing children for expressing their true sense of identity threatens their health and well-being, and schools have a special responsibility to protect all young people, regardless of gender identity or expression." -- Dr. Diane Horvath-Cosper, Reproductive Health Advocacy Fellow at Physicians for Reproductive Health
Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute
“In a shameful display of failed leadership, today President Trump succumbed to his extremist advisors and provided permission for schools to discriminate against transgender students. The move – while abhorrent – is unfortunately not surprising. Regardless of Trump claiming he would be a friend to LGBT people, the reality is personnel is policy. Trump is surrounding himself with anti-LGBT appointees who demonize our community and reject the notion of civil rights for LGBT people, making anti-LGBT policies almost inevitable." -- Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute President and CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills
National LGBTQ Task Force
“This is an outrageous attack on the most vulnerable in our education system, transgender children. At a time when young people need all the help they can get to reach their full potential, all Trump has to offer is more opportunities to discriminate against them. When every parent of a trans child needs hope and optimism for their families, all the president has to offer is pain and despair.” -- National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
“Revoking the guidance shows that the president’s promise to protect LGBT rights was just empty rhetoric. But the bottom line is that this does not undo legal protections for trans students, and school districts can and must continue to protect them and all students from discrimination. School districts that recognize that should continue doing the right thing; for the rest, we’ll see them in court. We will continue to fight for the rights and dignity of transgender youth, especially now that the Trump administration has decided to turn its back on them.” --American Civil Liberties Union LGBT Project Director James Esseks
New York Civil Liberties Union
“The Trump administration has made it clear that it will not protect the rights of the transgender community – one of the most vulnerable populations in the U.S. Even as the law remains on the side of transgender students, the administration’s new guidance sends them a terrible message about their right to receive an education as the people that they are, and creates national confusion around our civil rights laws that will put countless transgender children’s lives and well-being at risk.” -- New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman
Lambda Legal
“We all know that Donald Trump is a bully, but his attack on transgender children today is a new low. The U.S. Department of Education’s decision to withdraw guidance clarifying the rights of transgender students endangers the well-being and safety of children across the country. Trump’s actions do not change the law itself—transgender students remain protected by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—but abandoning the guidance intentionally creates confusion about what federal law requires. The law bars discrimination – the new administration invites it." -- Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven
Equality Pennsylvania
"Every student should be treated fairly and equally under the law, and protecting transgender students helps ensure that they have the same opportunity as their classmates to fully participate in school. The Trump administration’s decision to rescind this guidance has no impact on schools that are already doing the right thing in line with this guidance – they can, should, and will continue to protect transgender students.That’s why revoking this guidance is indicative of the administration’s disregard for transgender youth and the many challenges they face. While it may not have a legal impact, it sends an alarming messaging that bullying and harassment are OK." --Equality Pennsylvania Executive Director Ted Martin
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC)
"The unacceptable repeal of vital transgender protections in public schools by the Trump administration restricts the rights of an entire group of people. In recent years, we have made great strides in increasing social justice for the LGBT community, and this intolerant executive order diminishes that progress. We will continue to make our voices heard to ensure schools remain safe spaces for all children, regardless of the gender they identify with." -- GMHC CEO Kelsey Louie
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
"Since our founding, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has stood for the principle that every child deserves love, respect, and recognition for who they are. We have advanced this vision for 40 years, and we do not intend to let this administration's irresponsible and cowardly actions get in the way of fighting for our youth. We will not let Jeff Sessions and Mike Pence, two of the most openly anti-LGBT public officials in our nation’s history, erase the gains we have made." -- National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell
Equality Florida
“This comprehensive guidance put in place by the Obama administration helped provide every student a fair chance to succeed in school and prepare for their future—including students who are transgender. Schools should be safe places for LGBTQ students who are already at a disproportionate risk for bullying and harassment. Rescinding the guidance yesterday has sent the message to transgender youth that the President of the United States doesn’t have their backs.” -- Gina Duncan, Transgender Inclusion Director for Equality Florida
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