Transgender Rights

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (“TDCJ”) announced that today it will place Lambda Legal client Passion Star in Safekeeping as had been requested in an emergency motion filed earlier this month to protect her from further sexual assault and threats to her life. Passion Star is a transgender woman currently incarcerated in a TDCJ male facility.

The recent tragedy involving two transgender women of color in Orange County, CA – the death of Katya De La Riva and arrest of Valeria De La Luz for allegedly giving Katya silicone injections that authorities claim caused Katya’s death -- surfaces many of the issues faced by transgender people, and especially by low-income and immigrant transgender women of color – issues of acceptance, identity, discrimination, and transphobia.

Lambda Legal launched a petition drive calling on the state of Texas and Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott to implement and abide by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), the federal law signed by former President George W. Bush to address the problem of prison rape across the country. Texas is one of only seven states that has refused to comply with PREA.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued guidance today to health insurance companies that they are barred from discriminating against transgender individuals by denying them medically necessary treatment.