WoLF Testifies Against Prison Self-ID Bill in Maryland
Kacie Mills of the WoLF Board of Directors and WoLF Advisory Council member Jennifer Chavez both testified on Tuesday against Maryland House Bill 453 (HB453), which would allow male offenders to request transfer to women’s prisons if they claim to identify as “transgender” or “non-binary.” The bill does not make exceptions for male prisoners who have been convicted of rape or domestic assault. Watch the testimony from Kacie and Jennifer, as well as Amanda Stulman of Keep Prisons Single Sex, above.
Jennifer also submitted written testimony.
California has enacted a very similar bill, and incarcerated women have already faced devastating consequences. WoLF has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit challenging this law on behalf of four incarcerated women and the advocacy organization Woman II Woman.
WoLF has conducted polling that shows the vast majority of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, do not approve of housing men in women’s prisons, regardless of their claimed “gender identity.” In light of this data and the known risks to women and girls, WoLF urges rejection of HB453.
Several of the committee members in the hearing expressed a desire for more data. Opponents expressed concern that the lack of quality data in Maryland made it difficult to discern impacts of this law. Supporters implied that this new law would assist in data collection.
However, a bill was recently introduced in Washington state to exempt information on "gender identity" from disclosure under public records laws. This bill was introduced after a lawsuit was filed last year by the ACLU to prevent disclosure of the number of men who had been transferred to women's facilities. The public records request being blocked was submitted in response to (verified) reports that the state has been transferring sex offenders to women's prisons, one of whom went on to rape a cognitively disabled woman.
There is no reason to believe that groups like the ACLU would not similarly intervene in Maryland to block the release of information about abuse and rape perpetrated by males housed in women’s prisons.
By request of the committee, we sent a follow-up email with more information on prison gender identity policies.
Maryland residents, take action! Tell your elected representatives to keep prisons single sex!
See also our Press Release here.