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Saturday, Jul. 25, 2020

Could a new HUD rule limit access to shelters for transgender individuals?

Jiyul Kim, Gigafact
yes

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed modifying a 2016 rule barring federally-funded housing services from limiting access "based on sexual orientation or gender identity." The amended rule would allow single-sex or sex-segregated facilities to establish their own admission/placement policies when "an individual’s gender identity does not match their biological sex."

Under the proposed rule, transgender individuals could not be refused access, but shelters could choose to place them in a gendered-facility without taking personal identity into account.

Critics said the change eliminates needed protections for trans homeless people. HUD Secretary Ben Carson said it will "empower shelter providers to set policies that align with their missions."

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