While you donned your favorite rainbow accessory and danced in the streets this June, you also sat down to write an urgent letter. Contacting the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) probably wasn’t on your original Pride month agenda, but we’re so grateful that you responded to UUSC’s call for action.
Throughout our month-long campaign, 672 of you took the time to write a unique, thoughtful, public comment fighting back about transphobic new HUD policies. The department seeks to remove housing discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. They aim to allow providers to demand “evidence to confirm the sex of an individual seeking service” and redefine the term “sex” to enable discrimination against trans and intersex people.
Unitarian Universalists know that trans rights are human rights, and that all people should have a safe place to live. While UUs make up about .038% of the U.S. population, our community was responsible for nearly 3% of all public comments. We celebrate our shared commitment to gender and housing justice!
As we know, the fight is far from over. HUD may continue to pursue these transphobic and homophobic policies, but the success of the public comment campaign will delay the implementation. The public record also provides a basis for future legal challenges to overturn discriminatory rules. A total of 23,370 people submitted comments, and we know we’re in good company when it comes to fighting for these essential human rights.
We’re grateful to every individual who participated, all UU congregations that independently hosted comment drive events, and organizers who encouraged their communities to get involved. Tennessee UUSC members submitted the largest number of comments per capita, followed by Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Every comment contributed to making our collective voice loud and heard!
UUSC extends our gratitude to the Unitarian Universalist Association and Transgender Religious professional UUs Together (TRUUsT) for their partnership.
Want to continue coming together to make an impact? Be sure you’ve signed up for action alerts from UUSC’s Resistance Network! You’ll be invited to join future advocacy efforts to defend and advance human rights.
