Homeless trans women can be denied access to shelters in the US
US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Scott Turner.(Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty)
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is to stop enforcing a rule that bans LGBTQ+ discrimination in federally funded programmes, effectively stopping trans people accessing vital services.
Just days after being confirmed as HUD secretary, Scott Turner issued an order to halt any pending or future enforcement actions related to a department rule dating back to 2016, entitled Equal Access in Accordance With An Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs.
The regulation was an expansion of the 2012 Equal Access Rule which banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status, stipulating core HUD programmes must be “open to all eligible individuals and families”.
Housing programmes, shelters and other HUD-funded providers will now offer services to Americans based on their sex at birth, reflecting president Donald Trump’s executive order that declared the official policy of the US was that there are “only two sexes”.
Announcing the change, former Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers star Turner said the 2016 rule had tied the department’s programmes to what he termed far-left gender ideology.
“We, at this agency, are carrying out the mission laid out by president Trump when he signed an executive order to restore biological truth to the federal government,” Turner said. “This means recognising there are only two sexes: male and female. It means getting government out of the way of what the Lord established from the beginning when he created man in his own image.
“Moreover, this is just the first of many examples of how HUD is going back to work for the American people and being a good steward of taxpayer dollars.
“As I have said before, we are going to take inventory of HUD’s programmes and ensure every dollar that goes out the door is advancing HUD’s mission, which is to provide quality, affordable homes for communities across the country – urban, rural and tribal – and promote economic investment to build stronger communities and a brighter future for all Americans.”
Since returning to the White House, Trump has signed a number of anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders, often explicitly aimed at the trans community.
These include banning transgender people from serving in the military, barring trans women from female sports and restricting gender-affirming healthcare for trans people under the age 19. He has also signed orders eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across the government and in the armed forces.
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