III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 144 

Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and 

implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights 

of transgender and nonbinary people under the law and ensure their 

access to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. WARREN, Ms. 

HIRONO, and Ms. SMITH) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government 

to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights 

to protect and codify the rights of transgender and nonbinary people under the law and ensure their access 

to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security. 

Whereas an estimated 1,600,000 transgender adults live in 

the United States; 

Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

2000e et seq.) requires equal treatment under the law regardless of sex; 

Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed in 

Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 140 S. Ct. 1731 

(2020), that Federal protection against discrimination on 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 144 IS 

the basis of sex includes protection from discrimination 

on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; 

Whereas, despite these protections, transgender people still 

experience discrimination in— 

(1) medical care; 

(2) employment; 

(3) housing; 

(4) education; 

(5) lending; and 

(6) other basic necessities; 

Whereas State lawmakers introduced more than 300 bills attacking the rights of LGBTQI+ people, and transgender 

people in particular, in the first 6 weeks of 2023; 

Whereas the right of transgender and nonbinary people to 

seek lifesaving gender-affirming care is under threat 

across the United States; 

Whereas the provision of best-practice, age-appropriate, gender-affirming health care is endorsed by the American 

Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Nursing, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the 

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the 

American College of Physicians, the American Counseling 

Association, the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Osteopathic Association, the American 

Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Public Health Association, the 

American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Endocrine Society, the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in 

Women’s Health, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, the 

Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, the World 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 144 IS 

Medical Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health; 

Whereas transgender and nonbinary people— 

(1) face significant barriers to legal recognition of 

their truest selves on government documentation and 

identification; 

(2) experience disproportionately high rates of poverty, homelessness, violence, and suicide; and 

(3) detained in jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers are especially vulnerable to violence and 

abuse and are often deprived of gender-affirming resources and health care; 

Whereas transgender and nonbinary people— 

(1) make unique, valuable contributions to American 

society and culture worth honoring and celebrating; 

(2) have existed throughout history across the globe, 

demonstrating resilience, bravery, and authenticity; and 

(3) are parents, siblings, children, chosen family, 

and friends deserving of human dignity and support: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the Federal Government has a duty to pro3 tect the rights of transgender and nonbinary people 

4 by implementing a ‘‘Transgender Bill of Rights’’ 

5 that includes— 

6 (A) ensuring transgender and nonbinary 

7 people have equal access to services and public 

8 accommodations that align with their gender 

9 identity by— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 (i) amending the Civil Rights Act of 

2 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.) to prohibit 

3 discrimination on the basis of sex, includ4 ing gender identity and sex characteristics, 

5 in public accommodations and federally 

6 funded programs and activities; 

7 (ii) expanding the definition of public 

8 accommodation to address the full range of 

9 places and services that members of the 

10 general public utilize; 

11 (iii) explicitly clarifying that it is ille12 gal to discriminate on the basis of sex, in13 cluding gender identity or sex characteris14 tics, in public accommodations and services 

15 on religious grounds; and 

16 (iv) amending Federal education laws 

17 to ensure that those laws protect students 

18 from discrimination based on sex, includ19 ing gender identity and sex characteristics, 

20 and guarantee the rights of students to— 

21 (I) participate in sports on teams 

22 and in programs that best align with 

23 their gender identity; 

24 (II) use school facilities that best 

25 align with their gender identity; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 (III) have their authentic identity 

2 respected in the classroom; and 

3 (IV) have access to curriculum 

4 and books that accurately portray the 

5 substantive history and identity of 

6 LGBTQI+ people and Black, Indige7 nous, and people of color; 

8 (B) recognizing the right to bodily auton9 omy and ethical health care for transgender and 

10 nonbinary people by— 

11 (i) strengthening, implementing, and 

12 enforcing prohibitions on discrimination in 

13 the provision of health care on the basis of 

14 sex, including on the basis of actual or per15 ceived gender identity or sex characteris16 tics; 

17 (ii) eliminating unnecessary govern18 mental restrictions on the provision of, and 

19 access to, gender-affirming medical care 

20 and counseling for transgender and non21 binary adults and youth; 

22 (iii) ensuring that health care pro23 viders following standards of care for 

24 transgender and nonbinary people are not 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 targeted for criminal or civil penalties, or 

2 for professional discipline; 

3 (iv) protecting children from forceful 

4 removal from supportive homes; 

5 (v) protecting providers of gender-af6 firming care, reproductive health care, and 

7 abortion health care from threats and acts 

8 of violence related to their work; 

9 (vi) expanding access to competent 

10 health care providers serving transgender 

11 and nonbinary patients, including by re12 cruiting and training more health care pro13 viders to provide appropriate care; 

14 (vii) expanding telehealth access to 

15 provide patients in rural and other under16 served locations better access to health 

17 care services; 

18 (viii) codifying Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 

19 113 (1973), guaranteeing the right to 

20 abortion, and codifying the right to repro21 ductive health care such as contraceptives 

22 and assistive reproductive technology for 

23 everyone, including transgender and non24 binary people; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 (ix) banning the use of forced surgery 

2 that violates medical ethics and human 

3 rights on intersex children and infants; 

4 (C) ensuring transgender and nonbinary 

5 people can care for themselves and their fami6 lies by fully codifying the judgment of the Su7 preme Court of the United States in Bostock v. 

8 Clayton County, Georgia, 140 S. Ct. 1731 

9 (2020) by— 

10 (i) eliminating hiring and employment 

11 discrimination and workforce exclusion by 

12 amending title VII of the Civil Rights Act 

13 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) to ex14 plicitly clarify that employers may not dis15 criminate on the basis of actual or per16 ceived gender identity or sex characteris17 tics; 

18 (ii) amending the Fair Housing Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) to explicitly clar20 ify that it prohibits all forms of sex dis21 crimination, including on the basis of gen22 der identity or sex characteristics; and 

23 (iii) amending the Equal Credit Op24 portunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) to 

25 explicitly clarify that it prohibits all forms 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 of sex discrimination, including on the 

2 basis of gender identity or sex characteris3 tics; 

4 (D) providing accessible avenues for legal 

5 recognition of transgender and nonbinary iden6 tities and guaranteeing full participation in civil 

7 life by— 

8 (i) eliminating Federal gender identi9 fication requirements on government docu10 ments that are unnecessary to determine 

11 the identity of the holder or are otherwise 

12 irrelevant to the purpose of the document; 

13 (ii) eliminating burdensome barriers 

14 to updating sex and names on passports, 

15 Social Security cards, and other forms of 

16 Federal Government identification and 

17 records, permitting, where possible, 

18 changes on self-attestation alone; 

19 (iii) requiring that an ‘‘X’’ marker be 

20 available on Federal Government identi21 fication and records that still require gen22 der; 

23 (iv) requiring States to permit voters 

24 to update their name and gender on their 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 voter registration and vote on the same 

2 day of Federal elections; and 

3 (v) making explicit that existing Fed4 eral statutes prohibiting sex discrimination 

5 in jury service also prohibit discrimination 

6 based on gender identity and sex charac7 teristics; 

8 (E) strengthening the safety of 

9 transgender and nonbinary people by— 

10 (i) investing in community services to 

11 prevent intimate partner, family, and com12 munity violence against transgender and 

13 nonbinary people and expand services for 

14 transgender and nonbinary survivors; 

15 (ii) investing in mental health services 

16 and suicide prevention programs designed 

17 for transgender and nonbinary people; 

18 (iii) banning fraudulent and harmful 

19 so-called ‘‘conversion therapy’’ practices; 

20 (iv) ensuring robust regulations and 

21 procedures that affirm that claims for im22 migration relief or asylum based on perse23 cution related to gender, sexual orienta24 tion, gender identity, and sex characterisVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR144.IS SR144

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 tics are protected grounds in the context of 

2 asylum adjudications; and 

3 (v) exploring policies and practices 

4 that would improve the safety of 

5 transgender and nonbinary individuals in6 carcerated in jails, prisons, and immigra7 tion detention facilities, and ensure that 

8 those populations of transgender and non9 binary individuals have access to gender10 affirming care, appropriate services, and 

11 commissary items; and 

12 (F) actively enforcing the civil rights of 

13 transgender and nonbinary people by all gov14 ernment agencies including by— 

15 (i) requiring the Attorney General to 

16 designate a liaison within the Civil Rights 

17 Division of the Department of Justice 

18 whose job is dedicated to advising on and 

19 overseeing enforcement of the civil rights 

20 of transgender and nonbinary people; and 

21 (ii) appropriating the funds necessary 

22 to fully staff and support the enforcement 

23 of these rights across agencies; 

24 (2) the actions listed in this resolution are only 

25 the first steps toward transgender equality; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•SRES 144 IS 

1 (3) to carry out the goals in this resolution, 

2 Federal agencies must collect gender identity and 

3 sex characteristics information on a voluntary, con4 fidential basis solely for equity and public health 

5 purposes in key Federal surveys; 

6 (4) the Federal Government must make an on7 going commitment to the rights of transgender and 

8 nonbinary people; and 

9 (5) policies concerning transgender rights must 

10 be led and informed by transgender communities, in 

11 particular Black and Indigenous women who face 

12 heightened risk of violence, poverty, discrimination, 

13 and other harm due to their intersecting identities. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS