The Trump administration is proposing to revoke a rule which guarantees access to federally funded homeless shelters and other services regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.

The 2016 Equal Access Rule applies to all programs funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Devon Ojeda, senior national organizer for the group Advocates for Trans Equality, said shelters and other housing providers could be pressured to turn people away under a narrow definition of gender in order to keep their federal funding.

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“Even in blue states and states that do have protections, I fear that this will still impact service providers even in the state of Oregon,” Ojeda explained.

Ojeda cited a 2022 national survey which found nearly a third of transgender respondents had experienced homelessness in their lifetime, eight times the rate of the general population.

When issuing the order, HUD Secretary Scot Turner said it is about restoring “biological truth” to the federal government. Public comment on the rule is open until June 29.

Ojeda pointed out the Equal Access Rule was created to ease gender segregation so fathers and others could access the same shelters as their families. The rule later expanded to include transgender people. As such, Ojeda stressed transgender people would not be the only ones affected by the change.

“This rule change is going to mean disaster for every city,” Ojeda asserted. “We’re hoping that folks understand that when you come after trans people, you’re actually coming after everybody.”

Ojeda noted the first Trump administration tried to revoke the rule in 2018 but changed course after 60,000 comments were submitted in favor of keeping it, and feels confident the proposed rule change will be defeated again.