FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 22, 2018

CONTACT: Elliot Levy, [email protected], 202-800-7409

New York – Following reports that the Trump Administration is proposing to define gender as a “biological, immutable condition,” which would drastically roll back protections of transgender people under federal civil rights law, Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, released the following statement:

“The Trump administration's plan to roll back protections and threaten the rights of nearly two million transgender Americans is a devastating and disgusting punch in the gut. Like so many other of Trump’s policies, this is nothing but cruelty fueled by ignorance, misinformation, and fear. Transgender and gender expansive people are fully deserving of the fair and equal treatment guaranteed to them by our Constitution.

“Jews cannot and must not stand by as our government attempts to erase people it doesn’t like. Science, medicine, the law, and basic values of decency and dignity are on our side. Classical Jewish texts going back thousands of years recognized gender diversity in their families and communities. In the United States of the 21st century, we should expect no less. We will continue to fight for a society that recognizes that all people are created equal.”