Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 405 Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 17, 2021 Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. TITUS, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SIRES, Ms. DEAN, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. POCAN, Mr. KILMER, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. TONKO, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. TRONE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\HR405.IH HR405 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 405 IH Whereas over 11,000,000 American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), and 1,300,000 high schoolers identify as LGBT; Whereas, according to a February 2013 report by the Wil- liams Institute, an estimated 3,000,000 LGBT Ameri- cans have had a child and as many as 6,000,000 Amer- ican children and adults have an LGBT parent; Whereas, according to a 2018 study by the Williams Insti- tute— (1) 24 percent of female same-sex couples are rais- ing children; and (2) same-sex couples are 7 times more likely than different-sex couples to be raising an adopted or foster child; Whereas, according to a 2020 study by the Williams Insti- tute, 19 percent of transgender adults are raising chil- dren; Whereas the Center for American Progress found 1 in 3 LGBTQ people reported experiencing discrimination in some area of their lives in the past year because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in 2020; Whereas 45 percent of United States employees report hear- ing anti-LGBT remarks in the workplace and 25 percent say that LGBTQ people are treated worse by law en- forcement than non-LGBTQ people; Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia con- tribute to disparities in physical and mental health indi- cators such as depression, substance use, cancer, and ex- periences of abuse and violence; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR405.IH HR405 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 405 IH Whereas COVID–19 has further exacerbated the health dis- parities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen- der, and intersex people; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fur- ther report that homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia limit an individual’s ability to access high-quality health care and negatively affect such individual’s income and employment status; Whereas, according to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia con- tribute to disproportionately high rates of HIV among men who have sex with men and transgender women; Whereas, according to a 2017 survey by GLSEN (formerly known as the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Net- work), 87 percent of students who identify as LGBT were harassed at school in the past year due to their sex- ual orientation, 60 percent felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and 40 percent because of their gender identity; Whereas youth who are LGBT are 120 percent more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBT coun- terparts and are likely to lack access to health care and develop stress-related disorders; Whereas youth who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual are over 4 times more likely to attempt suicide compared to their heterosexual counterparts and transgender youth are over 5 times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender counterparts; Whereas homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia are associ- ated with minority stress that may underlie sexual behav- iors that can increase the risk of HIV and AIDS trans- VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR405.IH HR405 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 405 IH mission, and also create additional barriers for LGBT in- dividuals to access prevention and treatment for HIV and AIDS; Whereas nearly one-half of all LBQ women report being physically or sexually assaulted since they were 18 years old; Whereas the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, a study of 27,715 transgender adults, found that 77 percent of those who were out or perceived as transgender in K–12 were harassed, physically or sexually assaulted, or faced other forms of mistreatment because of being transgen- der, and nearly 1 in 5 (17 percent) were forced to leave a school because of the severity of mistreatment that they faced; Whereas a 2021 Williams Institute study of national crime victimization data found that transgender people are over 4 times more likely than cisgender people to experience violence; Whereas the Center for American Progress found that— (1) 15 percent of LGBTQ individuals, including 28 percent of transgender individuals, reported postponing or avoiding needed medical care when they were sick or injured due to disrespect or discrimination by health pro- viders; (2) among LGBTQ people who reported experi- encing some form of discrimination in the year prior, 36 percent reported avoiding doctors’ offices to avoid dis- crimination compared with 20 percent of respondents overall; and (3) 18 percent of transgender people reported that a doctor or health provider refused to see them because of their actual or perceived gender identity; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR405.IH HR405 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 405 IH Whereas LGBT adults are over twice as likely to be unin- sured than their non-LGBT counterparts and LGBT adults, particularly bisexual men and women, are more likely to experience poverty; Whereas 68 countries still criminalize homosexuality, and LGBT people in these countries face violence, increased discrimination, and blackmail; Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, in some countries transgender women are 80 times more likely to have HIV, and there were 2,982 reported killings of transgender people in 72 countries between 2008 and 2018; Whereas, according to a Williams Institute study of 120 countries, greater social acceptance and legal rights for LGBT people are associated with stronger economic growth; and Whereas the European Parliament and other international bodies observe May 17 as an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of an Inter- 2 national Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, 3 and Biphobia; 4 (2) encourages the Federal Government, States, 5 localities, nonprofit organizations, schools, and com- 6 munity organizations to observe the day with appro- 7 priate programs and activities, with the goal of in- 8 creasing public knowledge of homophobia, transpho- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR405.IH HR405 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 405 IH bia, and biphobia and empowering communities to 1 celebrate and respect their diversity; 2 (3) encourages health care providers to offer 3 culturally and clinically competent care to the les- 4 bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or ques- 5 tioning (LGBTQ+) community, schools to support 6 the creation of gender and sexuality alliances to 7 achieve safer learning environments, and individuals 8 to learn about national resources for those who iden- 9 tify as LGBTQ+; and 10 (4) encourages the Federal Government, States, 11 international funding organizations, and United 12 States bilateral and multilateral aid efforts to 13 prioritize the health and human rights of LGBTQ+ 14 people. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR405.IH HR405 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS