National Center for Transgender Equality

Secretary Napolitano: End sexual abuse of LGBT people

National Center for Transgender Equality
February 19th, 2013

The National Center for Transgender Equality urges Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to strengthen the standards to end sexual abuse and violence in immigration detention facilities.

Those standards would have protected people like Juan, a gay man, who was detained by DHS where he was sexually assaulted by two other detainees.

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Did your favorite group make list of best nonprofits fighting for LGBT equality?

Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief
December 27th, 2012

Lambda Legal has been selected by GuideStar USA’s Philanthropedia as the top-ranked nonprofit group standing up for LGBT equality.

Experts working in the LGBT sector were asked to recommend up to four nonprofits making significant contributions in LGBT equality and support on the national level and up to three nonprofits making a significant contribution at the state and local levels.

Report: Startling levels of discrimination against American Indian and Alaskan Native transgender people

SDGLN Staff
October 8th, 2012

WASHINGTON -- American Indian and Alaskan Native transgender and gender non-conforming people face some of the highest levels of discrimination of all transgender people, according to a new analysis released today.

Transgender Americans: Are your voting rights in jeopardy?

Alexandra Bolles - GLAAD National News Media Intern
August 20th, 2012

New voter ID laws could prevent more than 25,000 transgender citizens from voting, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA. The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) has released “Voting While Trans” resources in order to educate trans voters on what they can do to successfully cast their ballots, particularly during what advocate Laverne Cox says is “a critical election season.”

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Title VII protects transgender employees, EEOC declares in historical ruling

SDGLN Staff
April 24th, 2012

WASHINGTON – In a landmark ruling, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced late Monday that Title VII, the federal sex-discrimination law, protects employees who are discriminated against because they are transgender.

In its unprecedented 5-0 decision, the EEOC concluded that “intentional discrimination against a transgender individual because that person is transgender is, by definition, discrimination ‘based on … sex’ and such discrimination … violates Title VII.”

Victory for transgender immigration documents and marriage benefits

SDGLN Staff
April 14th, 2012

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday issued a Policy Memorandum revising the treatment of gender designations for transgender people on their immigration documents.

The new guidance also makes clear that if a couple has married as a different-sex couple under state law, the federal government will continue to recognize the marriage for immigration purposes regardless of a person's subsequent gender transition.

The revisions update the Adjudicator's Field Manual, a guide binding all USCIS staff overseeing immigration procedures.

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NCTE welcomes transgender protections in immigration detention

SDGLN Staff
February 29th, 2012

WASHINGTON -- Officials of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) welcome the release of revised standards for immigration detention from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

These new standards are an important step forward in the treatment of transgender people in detention facilities. However questions remain about how and when the standards will be implemented, and about ICE's commitment to implementing a law to prevent sexual abuse, and moving away from a prison-like detention model.

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New federal rules ensure equal access to HUD housing for LGBT Americans

Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief
January 30th, 2012

(Editor's note: This article contains original material as well a compilation of quotes obtained through news releases.)

BALTIMORE, Md. – A new federal rule being published this week will greatly increase protections against housing discrimination for the LGBT community.

Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), made the announcement Saturday during the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, a conference hosted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF).

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Transgender Latinos and Latinas face high levels of discrimination, study finds

SDGLN Staff
December 27th, 2011

WASHINGTON – Latino and Latina transgender and gender non-conforming people face some of the highest levels of discrimination of all transgender people according to an analysis released earlier this month.

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COMMENTARY: Transgender, victimized and black

The Rev. Irene Monroe - SDGLN Contributor
November 4th, 2011

It’s not easy for any person of African descent to be LGBTQ in our black communities, but our transgender brothers and sisters might feel the most discrimination.