The “don’t drop the soap” EO?

Via Metro Weekly:

Today, the Obama administration announced that it has finalized regulations implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act. According to an executive summary provided to members of the media and a conference call held with reporters, the regulations include provisions relating to “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and gender nonconforming inmates” — a development a leading LGBT advocate calls one of the most important LGBT advancements in the administration.

Although the administration — in a memorandum released today by President Obama — has concluded that the PREA “applies to all Federal confinement facilities,” the administration is allowing other agencies — including the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for administering immigration detention facilities — to “work with the Attorney General” to propose their own rules in this area in the next 120 days.

Specifically relating to LGBTI people, as part of efforts to prevent prison sexual abuse, the Department of Justice states that facilities subject to the PREA “incorporate unique vulnerabilities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and gender nonconforming inmates into training and screening protocols.”

The rule’s executive summary, which was provided to reporters today, expands upon this area. In a section relating to “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (LGBTI) and Gender Nonconforming Inmates,” the summary states: “The standards account in various ways for the particular vulnerabilities of inmates who are LGBTI or whose appearance or manner does not conform to traditional gender expectations. The standards require training in effective and professional communication with LGBTI and gender nonconforming inmates and require the screening process to consider whether the inmate is, or is perceived to be, LGBTI or gender nonconforming. The standards also require that post-incident reviews consider whether the incident was motivated by LGBTI identification, status, or perceived status.”

National Center for Transgender Equality executive director Mara Keisling tells Metro Weekly of the news, “This is a really, really big fucking issue.”