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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 23 OcTOber 2018

TRANSGENDER PEOPLE LGBT activists, who
Continued from Front pledged legal challenges
On Sunday, The New York if the reported memo
Times reported that the leads to official policy, said
Department of Health several other courts had
and Human Services issued rulings contrary to
was circulating a memo O'Connor's.
proposing that gender be "For years, courts across the
defined as an immutable country have recognized
biological condition that discriminating against
determined by a person's someone because they
sex organs at birth. The are transgender is a form of
proposal would define sex sex discrimination, full stop,"
as either male or female, said Diana Flynn, Lambda
and any dispute about Legal's litigation director. "If
one's sex would have to be this administration wants to
clarified through genetic try and turn back the clock
testing, according to the by moving ahead with its
Times' account of the own legally frivolous and
memo. scientifically unsupportable
President Donald Trump definition of sex, we will The National Center for Transgender Equality, NCTE, and the Human Rights Campaign gather on
addressed the matter be there to meet that Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, for a
briefly as he left the White challenge." #WontBeErased rally.
House for a political trip to Shannon Minter, a Associated Press
Houston, but left unclear transgender attorney with
how his administration the National Center for Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a changing their outward by the Williams Institute at
plans to proceed. Lesbian Rights, called the lawyer with Lambda Legal, appearance by adopting the UCLA School of Law,
"We have a lot of different reported plan a "cynical said the proposed rule a different hairstyle or there are about 1.4 million
concepts right now," Trump political ploy to sow discord change appears to still be clothing. transgender adults in the
said. "They have a lot of and energize a right-wing undergoing White House According to an estimate United States.q
different things happening base" before the Nov. 6 review.
with respect to transgender election. It would need to be signed
right now — you know that UCLA legal scholar Jocelyn off by the departments
as well as I do — and we're Samuels, who ran the HHS of Justice, Labor and
looking at it very seriously." civil rights office in the Education, which are also
Trump added: "I'm Obama administration, said involved with civil rights
protecting everybody." the Trump administration enforcement.
The Cabinet agency had would be going beyond He said "the purpose
acknowledged months established law if it adopted of this rule is to erase
ago that it was working to the policy in the memo. transgender people from
rewrite a federal rule that "What they are saying is you existence, to write them
bars discrimination in health do not get to decide your off from federal law, and
care based on "gender sex; it is the government to institute a definition that
identity." It cited a Texas- that will decide your sex," is contrary to case law,
based federal judge's said Samuels. contrary to medical and
opinion that the original rule For LGBT-rights leaders, it's scientific understanding,
went too far in concluding the administration's latest and contrary to the lived
that discrimination based attack on transgender experience of transgender
on gender identity is a form Americans. Among the people."
of sex discrimination, which others are an attempt to While social mores enter
is forbidden by civil rights ban them from military into the debate, medical
laws. service; a memo from and scientific experts
The department said Attorney General Jeff have long recognized a
Monday it would not Sessions concluding that condition called "gender
comment on "alleged civil rights laws don't protect dysphoria" — discomfort
leaked documents." It did transgender people from or distress caused by a
release a statement from discrimination on the job; discrepancy between
Roger Severino, head of its and the scrapping of the gender that a person
Office for Civil Rights, saying Obama-era guidance identifies as and the gender
his agency was reviewing encouraging school at birth. Consequences can
the issue while abiding by officials to let transgender include severe depression.
the 2016 ruling from the students use school Treatment can range from
Texas-based federal judge, bathrooms that matched sex-reassignment surgery
Reed O'Connor. their gender identities. and hormones to people