1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I'm asking you to introduce and pass state legislation that protects LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in homeless shelters and emergency housing programs. The federal government just proposed a rule that would strip gender identity and sexual orientation protections from HUD-funded shelters, and it will preempt state laws that conflict with these restrictions by conditioning federal funding on compliance. Trans adults are 8 times more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ+ adults. This proposed rule would force shelters to place people according to "biological sex" and explicitly allows facilities to demand evidence to establish someone's sex, removing the ban on intrusive questioning and genital inspections. Trans people seeking shelter would face a choice between harassment and violence in facilities that don't match their gender identity or sleeping on the streets. We need state-level protections that don't rely on federal funding conditions. Pass legislation that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in all shelters operating in our state, regardless of their funding source. Create alternative funding streams for shelters that refuse federal money to maintain inclusive policies. Trans people with nowhere else to go shouldn't have to choose between safety and shelter.