(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
July 2, 2020
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(Washington, D.C.) July 2, 2020 -- CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement on HUD's transphobic proposal to allow single-sex or sex-segregated homeless facilities to determine discriminatory policies based on biological sex, not gender identity:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities strongly opposes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed modification to the 2016 portion of the Equal Access rule allowing single-sex or sex-segregated homeless facilities to determine discriminatory policies based on biological sex, not gender identity. The Administration’s reasoning follows the long-discarded excuse used to deny civil rights to African Americans by claiming the Federal Government should not mandate a single approach that overrides local concerns. It was blatant discrimination then, and it is blatant discrimination now.
The significant impact of the Administration’s pernicious, discriminatory proposal aimed against transgender individuals, one of the most vulnerable and marginalized communities in America, cannot be overstated. One in three transgender Americans has been homeless at some point in their lives. Shelter is the most basic of human needs. To deny it at the most vulnerable moment in the life of a transgender individual denies trans people their human dignity.
The recent Supreme Court ruling that members of the LGBTQ+ community are protected by Title VII in employment should lead the way on housing protections.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.