This is really encouraging news and another sign of how progressive this current Administration really is. Let me summarize the article – it is a report of an interview with Dr. Joe Leonard, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Office of Civil Rights at the USDA. As the article notes, while we think of the USDA as being just the folks who stamp approval of our steaks, they also manage a large network of rural loans for homes and farms.
Quoting Dr. Leonard:
“The USDA is implementing historic protections for gender identity. In other words, we are making sure that if a person comes in and applies for a loan they cannot be turned away for gender identity issues.”
…“If there is a person whose destiny is to become a farmer, I want them to stay in Texas and farm that land. Alvin Ailey was from Rogers, Texas. He had to go to New York City to fulfill his destiny. But there are some destinies you don’t need to leave your home to fulfill. I’d say, ‘Trans people: we are here to support you in home ownership. We want the trans family to have what every other family in America can have.’”
By the way, I made the graphic myself…feel free to borrow it.