Sen. Tom Cotton Bill Blocks Biden Plan to Place Men in Female Prisons

January 12, 2022 

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act, legislation to prohibit the Bureau of Prisons from housing prisoners with persons of the opposite sex. Text of the bill may be found here.

“President Biden’s plan to house male and female prisoners together will put women in danger. Documented cases prove that placing men—including ones who ‘identify’ as female—in women’s prisons puts female inmates at increased risk of sexual assault.

My bill will stop the president’s ill-conceived plan and keep men and women separated in federal prison,” said Cotton.

The American Principles Project, Heritage Action, and Concerned Women for America LCA support this bill.

The Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act would:

• Forbid the Bureau of Prisons from using asserted “gender identity” to house inmates of one sex with inmates of the opposite sex.
• As a condition of receiving certain federal law enforcement grant funds, forbid state correctional institutions from using gender identity to house inmates of one sex with inmates of the opposite sex.

The Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act would not:

• Prevent prisons from designating a separate housing option for inmates based on their asserted “gender identity,” as long as they are not housed with inmates of the opposite sex.
  • For example, a prison would be free to set up specific housing units for transgender inmates based on security, medical, or programming needs, but would not be allowed co-locate those inmates with inmates of the opposite sex.
• Prohibit co-locating male and female prisoners for reasons unrelated to asserted “gender identity.”
  • For example, a state or federal institution would still be allowed to use short-term detention cells in a courthouse to house both male and female prisoners during a trial in which they are both witnesses, subject to normal security considerations to protect all detainees.

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