Law: Trans Inmates In Connecticut Will Be Housed Appropriately

Transgender inmates in Connecticut will soon become the first in the nation to have a legal right to be housed in a prison that matches the gender with which they identify, a law being lauded by civil rights advocates as groundbreaking.

In addition to housing, it also gives inmates the right to be searched by a correction officer who matches their self-identified gender, to be addressed in a manner consistent with their gender identity and have access to commissary items, such as clothing, that matches their gender identity.

"This is a really big deal," said David McGuire, executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut. "It is, in our mind, the most protective transgender policy and law in the country."

The legislation passed this spring as part of a larger bill that also dealt with the rights of pregnant inmates.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-ap-trans-inmates-connecticut-law-20180526-story.html