Multiple States Demand Civil Rights Protections for Transgender People

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3D illustration by Quince Media

A group of 20 state Attorneys General demanded the Trump administration to end its efforts that would undermine civil rights protections for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.

On Monday, the coalition of Attorneys General sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos regarding the issue.

In the letter, they expressed their “deep concern” over reports that the agencies are considering changing the definition of “sex” to exclude transgender and gender nonconforming people from the protections of civil rights laws.

Last month, it had been reported that the HHS proposed that sex should be defined as “a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth.” The HHS was reportedly encouraging other agencies including the Education Department to adopt its proposal.

Federal government is sending “dangerous message”

The coalition of Attorneys General encouraged Azar and DeVos to reject the proposal. They emphasized that the HHS’ proposed definition of sex is “inconsistent with current medical consensus.”