[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 388 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 388
Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Day Against
Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 2019
Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Khanna, Mr.
Grijalva, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York,
Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Titus, Ms. Speier, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Larsen of
Washington, Ms. Frankel, Mr. Pallone, Ms. Moore, Mr. Lowenthal, Mrs.
Davis of California, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Soto, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr.
Nadler, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Schakowsky,
Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Brownley of California, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New
York, Mr. Correa, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Crist, Mr.
Higgins of New York, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Quigley, Ms.
Jackson Lee, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Garcia of
Texas, Mr. Takano, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Haaland, Ms. Meng, Mr. Raskin, Mrs.
Lawrence, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mrs. Dingell, Mr.
Himes, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Craig, Ms. Porter, Mr. Brown of Maryland,
Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. McEachin, Mr. Cisneros,
Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Swalwell of California, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Danny K.
Davis of Illinois, Mr. Payne, and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, 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.
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 Williams Institute, an
estimated 3,000,000 LGBT Americans have had a child and as many as
6,000,000 American children and adults have an LGBT parent;
Whereas the Center for American Progress found 1 in 4 LGBT people reported
experiencing discrimination in some area of their lives because of their
sexual orientation or gender identity in 2016;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia contribute to disparities in
physical and mental health indicators such as depression, substance use,
cancer, and experiences of abuse and violence;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further 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 contribute 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 Network), 87 percent of students who identify as
LGBT were harassed at school in the past year due to their sexual
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 counterparts 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 associated with minority
stress that may underlie sexual behaviors that can increase the risk of
HIV and AIDS transmission, and also create additional barriers for LGBT
individuals to access prevention and treatment for HIV and AIDS;
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 transgender, and nearly 1 in 5
(17 percent) were forced to leave a school because of the severity of
mistreatment that they faced;
Whereas the Center for American Progress found 8 percent of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and queer survey respondents and 29 percent of transgender
respondents reported a doctor refused to see them because of their
actual or perceived LGBT status and LGBT patients who experienced
discrimination were nearly 7 times more likely than those who had not to
avoid going to a doctor;
Whereas LGBT adults are over twice as likely to be uninsured 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; and
Whereas the European Parliament and other international bodies observe May 17 as
an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of an International Day
Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia;
(2) encourages the Federal Government, States, localities,
nonprofit organizations, schools, and community organizations
to observe the day with appropriate programs and activities,
with the goal of increasing public knowledge of homophobia,
transphobia, and biphobia and empowering communities to
celebrate and respect their diversity;
(3) encourages health care providers to offer culturally
and clinically competent care to the LGBT community, schools to
support the creation of gay-straight alliances to achieve safer
learning environments, and individuals to learn about national
resources for those who identify as LGBT; and
(4) encourages the Federal Government, States,
international funding organizations, and United States
bilateral and multilateral aid efforts to prioritize the health
and human rights of LGBT people.
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