Title: Condemning the rise in hate against the transgender and nonbinary community.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This resolution condemns legislation that discriminates against the transgender and nonbinary community and violence against that community.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 507 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 507

   Condemning the rise in hate against the transgender and nonbinary 
                               community.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2021

   Mr. Torres of New York (for himself, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. 
   Wilson of Florida, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. 
   Velazquez, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Carolyn B. 
Maloney of New York, Ms. Newman, Ms. Wexton, Ms. Norton, Mr. Garcia of 
Illinois, Ms. Bush, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Carson, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Dean, 
     Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Takano, Ms. Jacobs of 
California, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Jones, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Langevin, Mrs. Watson 
Coleman, Mr. Keating, Mr. Payne, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Tonko, Mr. 
  Nadler, Mr. Auchincloss, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. 
  Khanna, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Kahele, Mr. Sean 
  Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr. Welch, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Yarmuth, Ms. 
   McCollum, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. 
 Pressley, Ms. Manning, Ms. Bass, Mr. Evans, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, 
 Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Soto, Ms. Blunt Rochester, 
     Ms. Craig, and Ms. Davids of Kansas) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Condemning the rise in hate against the transgender and nonbinary 
                               community.

Whereas an unprecedented 35 States have introduced more than 250 bills that 
        discriminate against transgender individuals, making 2021 the worst year 
        for legislation that discriminates against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, 
        Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community since 2015;
Whereas 35 bills would prohibit transgender youth from being able to access 
        best-practice, age-appropriate, gender-affirming medical care;
Whereas 69 bills would prohibit transgender youth and in some cases college 
        students from participating in sports consistent with their gender 
        identity;
Whereas 43 bills would allow people to assert a religious belief as 
        justification for failing to abide by the law or provide services to 
        people of whom they disapprove;
Whereas 15 bills would prohibit transgender people from having access to 
        restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity;
Whereas 18 anti-LGBTQ bills have been passed in State legislatures in 2021;
Whereas 10 additional anti-LGBTQ bills await the final decision of a Governor;
Whereas nearly 1,500 transgender children in Arkansas will lose medical care 
        after the State became the first in the country to outlaw gender-
        affirming treatment for minors;
Whereas a recent poll found that more than half of Americans personally know 
        someone who is transgender, and that two-thirds of Americans are against 
        laws that would limit the rights of transgender individuals;
Whereas legislation that discriminates against the transgender community is not 
        based in science and is intended to sow division and instill animosity 
        toward our fellow Americans;
Whereas transgender individuals are nearly four times as likely as cisgender 
        people to experience a mental health condition;
Whereas 42 percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the 
        past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth;
Whereas transgender and nonbinary youth who reported having pronouns respected 
        by all of the people with whom they lived attempted suicide at half the 
        rate of those who did not have their pronouns respected by anyone with 
        whom they lived;
Whereas transgender and nonbinary youth who were able to change their name or 
        gender marker on legal documents, such as driver's licenses and birth 
        certificates, reported lower rates of attempting suicide;
Whereas it has been estimated that LGBTQ youth and young adults have a 120-
        percent higher risk of experiencing homelessness;
Whereas violence against transgender or gender nonconforming individuals often 
        goes unreported or misreported because they are misnamed or misgendered 
        in three out of every four law enforcement or media reports;
Whereas 44 transgender killings were reported in 2020, making it the deadliest 
        year on record for transgender individuals in the United States and its 
        territories;
Whereas the first months of 2021 have already seen at least 29 transgender or 
        gender nonconforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent 
        means;
Whereas 7 in 10 transgender and gender nonconforming people killed as a result 
        of fatal violence were reported killed by an acquaintance, friend, 
        family member, or intimate partner;
Whereas 30 to 50 percent of transgender and nonbinary people reported having 
        experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their life;
Whereas isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic has increased instances of 
        intimate partner violence throughout the LGBTQ community;
Whereas Tyianna Alexander, Bianca ``Muffin'' Bankz, Dominique Jackson, Fifty 
        Bandz, Alexus Braxton, Chyna Carrillo, Jeffrey ``JJ'' Bright and Jasmine 
        Cannady (siblings), Jenna Franks, Diamond Kyree Sanders, Rayanna Pardo, 
        Jaida Peterson, Dominique Lucious, Remy Fennell, Tiara Banks, Natalia 
        Smut, Iris Santos, Tiffany Thomas, Keri Washington, Jahaira DeAlto, 
        Whispering Wind Bear Spirit, Sophie Vasquez, Danika ``Danny'' Henson, 
        Serenity Hollis, Oliver ``Ollie'' Taylor, Thomas Hardin, Poe Black, and 
        EJ Boykin were killed at the hands of transphobia;
Whereas Alexa, Samuel Edmund Damian Valentin, Layla Pelaez Sanchez, Serena 
        Angelique Velazquez Ramos, Penelope Diaz Ramirez, Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, 
        Yampi Mendez Arocho, and Michelle ``Michellyn'' Ramos Vargas were 
        victims of a surge in transphobia-related killings in Puerto Rico;
Whereas the Governor of Puerto Rico issued a state of emergency following these 
        violent killings to combat violence committed against the transgender 
        community;
Whereas fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, 
        particularly Black transgender women, and the intersection of racism, 
        sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and access to firearms 
        conspires to deprive them of life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
        happiness; and
Whereas laws and political rhetoric that deny the humanity of transgender people 
        by blocking access in areas like health care, housing, public spaces, 
        and employment give license to others to take violent action based on 
        their biases: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the rise of legislation that discriminates 
        against the transgender and nonbinary community;
            (2) condemns violence against the transgender and nonbinary 
        community;
            (3) remembers the lives lost at the hands of 
        antitransgender hate and discrimination; and
            (4) commits to advocating for the well-being and safety of 
        the transgender and nonbinary community.
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