Welcome to episode 8 of The Spectrum. This was recorded on February 5, 2025.

This is an episode that brings some good news. It will be a while before we know if it is temporary good news but, we could all use some good use right now so it’s worth shining some light on it.

According to a news report in LGBTQ Nation, a federal judge has blocked Trump’s executive order to forcibly de-transition and house transgender female inmates in male prisons.

The judge called the order a violation of the Eighth Amendment which protects against cruel and unusual punishment. The order applies across the entire country.

The women were able to show that transgender inmates experienced significantly higher risk of physical and sexual violence compared to the general population when housed with people of the opposite gender.

Of particular note is that Trump’s Attorney General and the Bureau of Prisons did not deny any of the potential harm that the women would face. This proves that cruelty is the point of these policies and the the Trump Administration is not basing their policies on any sort of science but on animosity towards a group of people they don’t like.

Now the question remains as to why this is so important. After all, why should we care what happens to some people that broke the law?

The government has a responsibility to care of the welfare of people that are incarcerated. If they broke the law and were sentenced to prison then the government has taken responsibility for their welfare. Trump’s policy would harm them and the DoJ admits that.

Second, it is now a legal precedent that at least one of Trump’s policies would do harm. That can be used to help dismantle the other transphobic policies.

This might be a small bit of good news, but it comes on a day when many of us needed to hear something encouraging. The fight against Trump’s despicable policies can be won. It’s likely the DoJ will appeal but a win at any level is encouraging.

Good luck and stay safe.

This was reported by LGBTQ Nation: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/02/women-win-court-ruling-blocking-trumps-order-to-house-trans-women-in-mens-prisons/