• Politics

Transgender Group Calls on Hillary Clinton to Answer Questions

2 minute read
In this May 16, 2016 photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waits to speak at a get out the vote event at La Gala in Bowling Green, Ky. Hillary Clinton has a message for Donald Trump: Bring it on. As Clinton's path to the Democratic nomination seems all-but-assured, friends, aides and supporters describe a candidate who is not only prepared to tune out Trump's increasingly direct attacks on her husband's personal indiscretions but believes they will eventually benefit her presidential aspirations. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waits to speak at a get out the vote event at La Gala in Bowling Green, Ky., on May 16, 2016.Andrew Harnik—AP
By Charlotte Alter

A transgender rights organization is calling out Hillary Clinton for failing to complete a trans-focused questionnaire it distributed to the presidential candidates.

Trans United Fund, the first tax-exempt political advocacy group to focus specifically on transgender issues, announced Monday that both Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had committed to completing the survey, but that only Sanders’ campaign had filled it out.

According to a press release from the Trans United Fund, a representative from the Clinton campaign called the TUF to say that the survey was too long and the campaign couldn’t complete it on time. The organization is now calling for the Clinton campaign to complete the questionnaire by May 27.

They also sent presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign the questionnaire, but did not receive a response. The group is planning to endorse a presidential candidate based partly on the results of the questionnaire, which reportedly includes questions about non-discrimination, violence, and HIV.

The questionnaire and the public call-out represent a changing tactic for transgender activists, who only recently organized a 501(c)(4) to push for political action on behalf of the transgender community. “If people thought the old patterns of silent gratitude; quiet, off the record conversations and hoping for the best would be how we react to slights in this new trans rights paradigm, that would be a critical mistake,” TUF Presidential endorsement committee member Monica Roberts said in a statement.

Secretary Clinton has consistently supported transgender rights, and as Secretary of State she approved a new policy that would allow trans Americans to have their true identity reflected on their passports. She’s also called for the Justice Department to collect more data about transphobic violence and improve reporting of hate crimes against transgender people. Clinton has strong support from the LGBTQ community, and some trans supporters have created Trans United for Hillary to help her get elected. She also posted a sympathetic Facebook message to a transgender woman after she was harassed on the New York subway.

The Clinton campaign declined to comment on whether they would be completing the questionnaire.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com