California to start housing transgender inmates by gender identity

by Anagha Srikanth | Sept. 28, 2020

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Story at a glance

Transgender inmates in many prisons are housed based on the sex assigned to them at birth, rather than their gender identity.
California has passed a law allowing transgender inmates to request to be placed in another facility.
But a prisoner’s request can be denied for “management or security concerns.”

While politics kicks into high gear less than 40 days away from the presidential election, those who are already in office are still at work — remotely. On Saturday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a slew of bills, including several LGBTQ+ protections and a measure to collect more data on how COVID-19 has affected the community.

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“California has some of the strongest pro LGBTQ+ laws in the nation and with the bills signed today, our march toward equality takes an additional step forward,” said Gov. Newsom in a statement. “These new laws will help us better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ+ community, establish a new fund to support our transgender sisters and brothers and advance inclusive and culturally competent efforts that uphold the dignity of all Californians, regardless of who you are or who you love.”

One of these bills will require state prisons to house transgender inmates by their gender identity, except in the case of “management and security concerns.” During the intake process, officers will ask inmates how they identify, and inmates can request to be placed in a specific facility. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation can no longer deny those requests on the basis of inmates’ anatomy or sexual orientation, and if the request is denied, the inmate must receive a “meaningful opportunity” to object.

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“It’s just a false narrative about transgender people and about transgender women in particular that they’re somehow not really women and are just trying to scam their way into women’s bathrooms or facilities in order to do bad things,” Sen. Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, told NBC News, saying he expected few exceptions in practice. “Overwhelmingly the people who are being victimized are trans people.”

The state also passed a law establishing the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund to assist organizations in providing housing or other care to the LGBTQ+ community. Another bill prevents insurance companies from discriminating against individuals because of their HIV status. Despite the state’s reputation as a friendly place for LGBTQ+ Americans, the American Civil Liberties Union said that this legislation is only a first step.