A group of House Democrats announced Tuesday they are working to codify federal protections for transgender people.
According to The Hill, the proposal, dubbed the "Transgender Bill of Rights," would codify the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision protecting workers against discrimination for being transgender or gay.
The proposal would amend protections from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for sex characteristics and gender identity, as well as expand access to gender-affirming care and the banning of conversion therapy.
The bill would also direct the attorney general to appoint a liaison to oversee the enforcement of civil rights for transgender people.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the Congressional Progressive Caucus' chair and co-chair of the Transgender Equality Task Force, stated that the proposal would allow transgender people to lead "full, happy lives."
"As we witness," Jayapal said, "Republicans and an extremist Supreme Court attack and roll back the fundamental rights of trans people across our country, and as state legislatures across the country target our trans community with hateful, bigoted, and transphobic attacks, we are standing up and saying enough is enough."
Jayapal introduced the bill alongside Reps. Marie Newman, D-Ill.; David Cicilline, D-R.I.; Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.; and Mark Takano, D-Calif. The proposal has garnered the support of 84 other co-sponsors.
Proponents for the proposal cited Friday's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. In his opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he agreed the court should consider overturning some precedents like the rights to same-sex marriage and contraception.
But Thomas did not mention the Bostock decision in his opinion.
Since then, Thomas's opinion has caught the eye of multiple Democrats who believe the Supreme Court's conservative majority could roll back rights extended to LGBTQ people in former cases.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.