Trump Looking At Eliminating Federal Recognition For Transgender Persons

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The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender by genitalia, which would eliminate civil rights protections for transgendered persons.

The New York Times reported:
The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, the most drastic move yet in a governmentwide effort to roll back recognition and protections of transgender people under federal civil rights law.

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Now the Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans gender discrimination in education programs that receive government financial assistance, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times.

The department argued in its memo that key government agencies needed to adopt an explicit and uniform definition of gender as determined “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.” The agency’s proposed definition would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with, according to a draft reviewed by The Times. Any dispute about one’s sex would have to be clarified using genetic testing.

Transgender Persons Would No Longer Be Recognized By The US Federal Government

There is no policy basis for this action. As with almost everything else that the Trump administration does, the motive is to cater to a small group of conservative Christians who were outraged when Obama extended civil rights protections to transgender individuals. Trump’s proposed move would go beyond what Obama did, and strip recognition away from these people and force them to be defined by their genitals.

It is archaic, backward, and totally in character for Trump, who seems to be trying to alienate every single American voter who is not a white male conservative Christian.

As evidenced by the results of the 2016 election, many people took the civil and cultural progress of the Obama years for granted. The rollback that Trump is considering should concern everyone who is in a protected class. Transgender persons are the trial balloon. The long-term goal is to take away federal recognition and protections for all minorities.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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