NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer is speaking out against President Trump's plan to rescind guidelines recently set by former President Obama allowing transgender students to use the restroom consistent with their gender identity, reported The Washington Blade.
The change is planned to take place shortly after the confirmation of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, in the form of a letter from the Justice and Education departments to schools.
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 in the City Council.
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, said Stringer.
"This isn't a states' rights issue — it's a civil rights issue," he said. "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."
On Wednesday, Stringer and Trillium Asset Management led 40 of the largest investors in the world in opposing Texas Senate Bill 6 . In a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Joe Straus, the investors outlined how discrimination against transgender children not only is wrong, but undermines businesses and the economy.
