Text of US HR 628 (2017)

IV 115TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 628 Recognizing the Transgender Day of Remembrance. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 16, 2017 Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Mr. GRIJALVA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Whereas in 1998 Rita Hester, a transgender woman of color was murdered, and her murder has yet to be solved; Whereas the following year Gwendolyn Ann Smith created the first Transgender Day of Remembrance in honor of Rita Hester and other transgender people who had lost their lives to violence; Whereas 42 percent of transgender people in the United States have reported mistreatment by health care pro- viders; Whereas nearly half of the transgender community in the United States has been verbally harassed and nearly one in ten has been physically attacked; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Nov 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR628.IH HR628 dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 628 IH Whereas nearly a third of transgender people in the United States had experienced homelessness in 2015; Whereas 15 percent of transgender people in the United States who were employed in 2015 were verbally har- assed, physically attacked, or sexually assaulted at work because of their gender identity or expression; Whereas around the world, countries outlaw transgender peo- ple living as their authentic selves; Whereas almost half of all transgender people in the United States will attempt suicide at one point in their lifetime, a rate that is eight times higher than the rest of the United States population; Whereas the United States has one of the highest rates of murder of transgender people; Whereas, as of November 20, 2017, at least 25 transgender people have been killed as a result of hate, fear, and vio- lent attacks in 2017; Whereas there is significant incidence of misgendering or misnaming transgender victims of crime in police reports, indicating that the number of transgender victims of vio- lence and murder is likely far higher than what is offi- cially reported, and local law enforcement is not required to, and frequently fails to, report hate crimes, including murder, specific to the LGBT community; Whereas Congress and the executive branch must act to pro- tect and preserve the lives of all minorities through inclu- sive legislation; and Whereas transgender Americans are making historic progress, highlighted by nondiscrimination laws enacted in several States and an increasing number of trans elect- ed officials, signaling greater public support for VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Nov 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR628.IH HR628 dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 628 IH transgender equality and respect for their contributions to society: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes and supports the goals and prin- 2 ciples of Transgender Day of Remembrance; 3 (2) supports an increase in the amount and ac- 4 curacy of Federal collection and reporting of data 5 for violence against transgender people; and 6 (3) calls on Federal and State governments to 7 study, respond to, and prevent violence against 8 transgender people. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Nov 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR628.IH HR628 dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS