Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Some say that this amendment will negatively impact the safety and privacy of women in shelters. Service providers around the country who operate shelters every day disagree. These providers believe that nondiscrimination protections are necessary to ensure everyone in need can access shelters. Over 300 domestic and sexual violence organizations across the country signed a national consensus statement in support of full and equal access for the transgender community. These leaders agree that serving transgender women victims in shelters is appropriate and does not pose a safety issue. While housing transgender people according to their gender identity does not propose a safety risk to others, failing to do so puts transgender people in danger. Transgender people experience shockingly high rates of sexual and physical violence and forcing transgender people to use facilities that don't match their gender identity leaves them at risk for harassment, assault, and a host of harms that result when people avoid using the bathroom during the day. Allowing shelter providers to decide who is eligible for access to single-sex or sex-segregated shelters opens the door to discrimination. Make no mistake, this is incredibly dangerous. The consequences of being turned away from a shelter can be dire.”