State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who authored the bill signed by Newsom, said transgender people are the ones who are routinely victimized in prison.
Transgender inmates in California will now be housed according to their gender identity thanks to a new law signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). The law states that prison officers must privately ask inmates going through the intake process if they identify as transgender, nonbinary, or intersex. If the inmate indicates one of those identities, they will be allowed to request a move to the facility that houses their preferred gender.
There is a caveat to the new law, however. If the state has “management or security concerns,” it will provide a written explanation of why it denied an inmate the chance to be housed according to his or her gender identity. The inmate will be given a “meaningful opportunity” to object, The Associated Press reported.
“The law says the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation cannot deny those requests solely because of inmates’ anatomy, sexual orientation or ‘a factor present’ among other inmates at the facility,” the outlet reported.
In addition to being housed with their gender identity, prison officers are also required to address the inmates according to their preferred pronouns and must search inmates “based on the search policy of their gender identity,” the AP reported.
