Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) on Sunday vowed to protect the LGBTQ community by making sure transgender women aren't in the same prisons as men.
"We have to protect all of our people, and it works all the way through the system," Warren said at a campaign rally in Marshalltown, Iowa. "One of the things we have to think about as a nation—we have to stop putting trans women who are incarcerated into prisons with men where they are at risk. It is our responsibility."
Warren's emphasis on protecting transgender women in prison is part of her "Securing LGBTQ+ Rights and Equality" plan that was released in October. The plan promises every facility would cover "transition-related surgeries," and she argued solitary confinement puts transgender people at risk of "greater psychological distress."
"I will direct the Bureau of Prisons to end the Trump Administration’s dangerous policy of imprisoning transgender people in facilities based on their sex assigned at birth and ensure that all facilities meet the needs of transgender people, including by providing medically necessary care, like transition-related surgeries, while incarcerated," Warren said in her plan.
Warren isn't the only Democratic presidential candidate who has spoken out about transgender issues. Nine of the candidates participated in CNN's October town hall on LGBTQ issues that was heavily focused on promoting transgender rights.