Dallas County led the way in LGBT inmate protections

When the Harris County Sheriff’s Office announced a sweeping LGBT nondiscrimination and housing policy last month, it was heralded as the first of its kind in the state.

But after reviewing the policy and the one implemented by openly gay Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, the policy, while extensive, is one of many in the state.

The policy, released mid-November in conjunction with the county’s regulations required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act, provides a safe zone for better communication with the gay community, as well as housing gay inmates in homosexual tanks and allowing transgender inmates to be called by their chosen name and housed with their gender identities.