Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin in a tweet posted Tuesday criticized alleged efforts by the Trump administration to define the legal definition of sex under Title IX as the gender a person is born with.

“Transgender people are not a political stance, agenda, or conspiracy. They are human beings and they deserve equal protection under the law. #WontBeErased #TransRightsAreHumanRights,” Woodfin said in the tweet.

Transgender people are not a political stance, agenda, or conspiracy. They are human beings and they deserve equal protection under the law. #WontBeErased #TransRightsAreHumanRights — Randall Woodfin (@randallwoodfin) October 23, 2018

Woodfin posted the tweet just before noon Tuesday in response to a story from The New York Times, that said the Department of Health and Human Services is working to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.”

The agency’s proposed definition would define sex as either male or female determined by the genitals that a person is born with, according to a draft reviewed by The Times. Any dispute about one’s sex would have to be clarified using genetic testing, The Times reported.

David Dinielli, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center issued a statement in response to Woodfin’s tweet late Tuesday afternoon.

“Mayor Woodfin is absolutely correct in his sentiments. All people in Birmingham, the state of Alabama, and the country deserve a guarantee to live their lives free from discrimination. The Trump administration – based on news reports over the weekend in The New York Times – seems to think it can write transgender people out of existence by issuing new federal regulations. The existence of transgender people is not up for debate.”

Last year, the Birmingham City Council passed a Non-Discrimination Order to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in Birmingham.

The ordinance made it a criminal offense for any entity operating in the city to discriminate against a person based on his or her race, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity or disability.

The city-wide non-discrimination ordinance covers housing, public accommodations and employment. The ordinance will be enforced through Birmingham Municipal Court.