IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 587 

Recognizing LGBTQ+ suicide as a public health problem and expressing 

support for the designation of September as ‘‘National Suicide Prevention 

Month’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 

York, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. WILD, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. POCAN, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. COOPER, Mr. SIRES, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. MENG, Ms. JACKSON LEE, 

Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

SERRANO, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. LYNCH, and 

Mr. CORREA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing LGBTQ+ suicide as a public health problem 

and expressing support for the designation of September 

as ‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’. 

Whereas, since 2008, suicide is the 10th leading cause of 

death in the United States for all ages and the second 

leading cause of death among individuals between the 

ages of 10 to 34; 


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•HRES 587 IH 

Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘CDC’’), on 

average there are 129 suicides per day, resulting in over 

47,000 deaths each year in the United States; 

Whereas, from 1999 through 2017, the age-adjusted suicide 

rate in the United States increased 33 percent from 10.5 

to 14.0 per 100,000; 

Whereas, according to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey data released in 2018, almost half of all lesbian, gay, 

and bisexual students seriously consider attempting suicide, making them almost 4 times more likely to do so 

than their straight peers; 

Whereas the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found 40 percent of respondents had attempted suicide in their lifetime—nearly nine times the attempted suicide rate in the 

United States population at large; 

Whereas it is estimated that there are over 1,300,000 suicide 

attempts each year in the United States, and The Trevor 

Project estimates that more than 1,800,000 lesbian, gay, 

bisexual, transgender, and queer (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘LGBTQ+’’) youth seriously consider suicide each year; 

Whereas suicide is preventable, as 9 out of 10 suicide attempt survivors do not go on to die by suicide; 

Whereas, according to the CDC, suicide results in an estimated $44,600,000,000 in combined medical and workloss costs nationally; 

Whereas the stigma associated with mental health conditions 

and suicidality works against suicide prevention by discouraging persons at risk for suicide from seeking lifeVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Sep 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR587.IH HR587

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•HRES 587 IH 

saving help and further traumatizes survivors of suicide 

loss and people with lived experience of suicide; and 

Whereas September would be an appropriate month to designate as ‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’ which 

overlaps World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10, 

recognized internationally and supported by the World 

Health Organization: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes suicide as a preventable national 

3 public health problem; 

4 (2) supports the designation of ‘‘National Sui5 cide Prevention Month’’; 

6 (3) supports declaring that suicide prevention 

7 should be a priority; 

8 (4) acknowledges that no single suicide preven9 tion program or effort will be appropriate for all 

10 populations or communities, and that particular at11 tention should be paid to communities known to be 

12 at heightened risk, including LGBTQ+ youth and 

13 LGBTQ+ youth of color; 

14 (5) promotes awareness that there is no single 

15 cause for suicide, and that suicide is most often an 

16 impulsive act that occurs during a moment of over17 whelming hopelessness and despair; and 


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•HRES 587 IH 

1 (6) develops and implements strategies to in2 crease access to quality mental health, substance 

3 abuse, and suicide prevention services. 

Æ 


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