Statement from New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer on President Trump’s Potential Roll-back of Protections for Transgender Students
“Yesterday, we led some of the world’s largest investors in speaking out against SB6 – a bill in Texas that would openly discriminate against transgender individuals. It’s legislation that wittingly targets Texans for who they are, and it’s wrong.
“Now, the Trump Administration is poised to roll-back protections for, and willfully single out, transgender students. The White House is sending a message that it actively tolerates discrimination against children. This isn’t a states’ rights issue – it’s a civil rights issue. From Indiana, to North Carolina, to Texas, states across this country have tried to impose discriminatory legislation under the mask of ‘religious freedom’ or ‘bathroom safety.’ But we know what these bills really aim to do: target people. That’s why federal protections are so important, because governors with backwards values will exploit this White House roll-back. Ultimately, it will no doubt result in children facing even more discrimination. President Trump is, once again, putting himself on the wrong side of history.”
Yesterday, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and Trillium Asset Management led 40 of the largest investors in the world in opposing Texas Senate Bill 6. Similar to North Carolina’s HB2, this bill would discriminate against transgender individuals by forcing them to use the bathroom that aligns with their original birth certificate in public schools, universities, and government buildings. In a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Joe Straus, the investors outlined how discrimination is not only wrong, but undermines businesses and the economy.
In June 2015, Comptroller Stringer released a report outlining legislation to expand protections for transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers. A year later, a bill requiring single-use bathrooms to be labeled as gender neutral passed the City Council.
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