[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
THE RISE OF ANTI-LGBTQI+ EXTREMISM AND VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
OVERSIGHT AND REFORM
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
DECEMBER 14, 2022
__________
Serial No. 117-112
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Reform
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on: govinfo.gov,
oversight.house.gov or
docs.house.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
50-156 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM
CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York, Chairwoman
Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of James Comer, Kentucky, Ranking
Columbia Minority Member
Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts Jim Jordan, Ohio
Jim Cooper, Tennessee Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia Jody B. Hice, Georgia
Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin
Jamie Raskin, Maryland Michael Cloud, Texas
Ro Khanna, California Bob Gibbs, Ohio
Kweisi Mfume, Maryland Clay Higgins, Louisiana
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Pete Sessions, Texas
Katie Porter, California Fred Keller, Pennsylvania
Cori Bush, Missouri Andy Biggs, Arizona
Shontel M. Brown, Ohio Andrew Clyde, Georgia
Danny K. Davis, Illinois Nancy Mace, South Carolina
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Scott Franklin, Florida
Peter Welch, Vermont Jake LaTurner, Kansas
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr., Pat Fallon, Texas
Georgia Yvette Herrell, New Mexico
John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Byron Donalds, Florida
Jackie Speier, California Mike Flood, Nebraska
Robin L. Kelly, Illinois
Brenda L. Lawrence, Michigan
Mark DeSaulnier, California
Jimmy Gomez, California
Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts
Russ Anello, Staff Director
Elisa LaNier, Operations Director & Chief Clerk
Contact Number: 202-225-5051
Mark Marin, Minority Staff Director
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C O N T E N T Scons
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Page
Hearing held on December 14, 2022................................ 1
Witnesses
Panel 1
Mr. Michael Anderson, Survivor of Club Q Shooting
Oral Statement............................................... 5
Mr. Matthew Haynes, Founding Owner of Club Q
Oral Statement............................................... 7
Mr. James Slaugh, Survivor of Club Q Shooting
Oral Statement............................................... 8
Panel 2
Kelley Robinson, President, Human Rights Campaign
Oral Statement............................................... 11
Olivia Hunt, Policy Director, National Center for Transgender
Equality
Oral Statement............................................... 12
Ilan Meyer, Distinguished Senior Scholar for Public Policy, The
Williams Institute
Oral Statement............................................... 14
Charles Fain Lehman, Fellow, Manhattan Institute For Policy
ResearchContributing Editor, City Journal
Oral Statement............................................... 16
Jessica Pocock, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director,
Inside Out Youth Services
Oral Statement............................................... 17
Brandon Wolf, Survivor of Pulse Nightclub Shooting
Oral Statement............................................... 18
Opening statements and the prepared statements for the witnesses
are available in the U.S. House of Representatives Repository
at: docs.house.gov.
INDEX OF DOCUMENTS
----------
* Fox News, ``More than 100 pro-life orgs, churches attacked
since Dobbs leak''; submitted by Rep. Hice.
* Fox News, ``Virginia Christian group denied service at
restaurant over safety concerns: 'Amazingly hypocritical';''
submitted by Rep. Hice.
* Statements from the Equality Caucus Transgender Equality Task
Force co-chairs; submitted by Cicilline.
* National Education Association (NEA) Statement for the
Record.
* National Women's Law Center - (NWLC) Statement for the
Record.
* NWLC LGBTQ+ Resources.
The documents listed are available at: docs.house.gov.
THE RISE OF ANTI-LGBTQI+ EXTREMISM AND VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
House of Representatives,
Committee on Oversight and Reform,
Washington, D.C.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in
room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, and via Zoom; the
Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney [chairwoman of the committee]
presiding.
Present: Representatives Maloney, Norton, Lynch, Connolly,
Raskin, Khanna, Tlaib, Porter, Bush, Brown, Davis, Welch,
Johnson, Kelly, DeSaulnier, Gomez, Pressley, Comer, Foxx, Hice,
Grothman, Cloud, Gibbs, Keller, Fallon, Herrell, and Donalds.
Also present: Representatives Cicilline and Jones.
Chairwoman Maloney. The committee will come to order.
Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a
recess of the committee at any time.
I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
It is with a heavy heart that I convene today's hearing to
examine the rise of extremism and violence against LGBTQI+
people in the United States.
Last month a person with an AR-15-style assault rifle
entered Club Q, a nightclub that served as a haven for LGBTQI+
people in the Colorado Springs community, and opened fire on
unsuspecting bar patrons and staff.
The attacker's depravity robbed us of five innocent lives--
Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh,
and Derrick Rump.
More than a dozen people were injured in the rampage, and
family members and loved ones who were left reeling have been
forced to pick up the pieces. My heart breaks for those who
endured this ruthless act of violence.
The Club Q shooting represents an attack on all sacred
places for LGBTQI+ people across the country that offer the
promise of community and refuge from rampant bigotry.
In attacking Club Q, the shooter targeted the sense of
safety among the LGBTQI+ people across the country, a feeling
of security to which they are entitled.
The attack on Club Q and the LGBTQI community is not an
isolated incident, but part of a broader trend of violence and
intimidation across our country.
Earlier this month, a group of extremists appeared at a
Lakeland, Florida, arts festival featuring drag performances to
harass and intimidate performers and attendees. The extremist
group, whose faces were concealed by masks, carried a banner
with anti-LGBTQI+ slurs and raised their arms in Nazi salutes.
And in my own community in New York City, home of Stonewall
and the international capital of the LGBTQI+ rights movement, a
man was arrested for throwing bricks at the windows of a gay
bar on four different occasions.
These actions are the culmination of years of anti-LGBTQI
extremism that began in statehouses across the country and
spread to social media platforms before boiling over into the
communities where we reside.
In 2018, Republicans in state governments across the
country introduced 110 pieces of legislation targeting the
health and safety of LGBTQI people. In the past legislative
session, this number tripled to more than 340 pieces of anti-
LGBTQI legislation.
These bills which villainize LGBTQI+ people in classroom
settings and target healthcare for LGBTQI people and more
directly threaten the freedom of LGBTQI people to live
authentically and safely.
For example, one piece of legislation signed into law by
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis prohibits teachers from even
mentioning LGBTQI+ people in classrooms. This, quote, ``Don't
Say Gay Or Trans,'' end quote, law erases the existence of
LGBTQI people and families and muzzles our nation's brightest
educators.
Within a month of Florida passing this legislation, two
additional states passed similar bills. In total, 48 bills in
more than 20 states have considered eliminating or suppressing
LGBTQI people and history in the school curriculum.
Here in Congress, dozens of House Republicans have
cosponsored Federal legislation to prohibit Federal funding for
schools with curricula that affirms LGBTQI people. And
Republicans at every level of government have gone even further
to villainize transgender people, targeting their ability to
access necessary healthcare and restricting their freedom to
participate as full members of our society.
These hateful pieces of legislation have fueled a dangerous
rise in extreme anti-LGBTQI rhetoric following the passage of
Florida's Don't Say Gay or Trans law. Vitriolic social media
content accusing members of the LGBTQI community of being
groomers skyrocketed by more than 400 percent.
The committee received a video submission from Ms. Sarah
Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAD, one of the nation's
leading LGBTQI+ media advocacy organizations, explaining the
proliferation of anti-LGBTQI+ extremism across our media
landscape and its relationship to the kind of violence we
observed at Club Q.
I'd like to play this video now if we could.
[Video shown.]
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
As Republicans have fanned the flames of bigotry, Democrats
have remained committed to protecting and advancing the health,
safety, and rights of the LGBTQI+ people.
Last year House Democrats passed the Equality Act, landmark
legislation that would enshrine protections against
discrimination for LGBTQI+ people into law.
And this past June, to commemorate Pride Month, this
committee shepherded the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act to House
passage. This groundbreaking legislation would expand Federal
data collection efforts to improve our ability to understand
and address the specific challenges facing the LGBTQI+ people.
More than 200 House Republicans voted against each of these
pieces of legislation.
As a longtime public servant, the fight for LGBT+ equality
is one that has always been close to my heart. As a New York
City Council member serving the very community where the famous
queer activist Edie Windsor resided, I was proud to introduce
the first legislation recognizing domestic partnership in New
York state history.
Just last week, Congress took the historic step of
protecting the right to same-sex marriage under Federal law,
and President Biden signed it into law yesterday with over
5,000 Americans on the lawn of the Capitol appreciating this
act. But the work of ensuring that LGBTQ+ people can live
authentically and safely is only just beginning.
Today we will hear from some of the nation's leading
experts regarding the rise of anti-LGBTQI extremism, the damage
it inflicts upon our communities, and the steps we must take to
eliminate it.
I am pleased to welcome the new president of the Human
Rights Campaign, Ms. Kelley Robinson, for her first appearance
before Congress.
We will also hear directly from survivors of the violent
Club Q attack. And I am deeply grateful for the bravery of
these individuals in recounting their horrific experiences.
Their testimony will serve as a tremendous public service for
their community and for our nation.
Thank you.
Let us honor them by recommitting to the bold action
necessary to ensure that every person in the United States can
experience the freedom to live authentically and safely
regardless of who they love or how they identify.
I now yield to the distinguished ranking member, Mr. Comer
from Kentucky, for his opening statement.
Mr. Comer. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank our witnesses who have joined us today for
our last full committee hearing under Chairman Maloney's
tenure, and I'll have more to say about that at the conclusion
of the hearing.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Colorado and Florida
shooting victims' families and friends. No one should have to
experience what you all have experienced.
Let me state clearly, as we have consistently said,
Republicans condemn violence in all forms. Unfortunately,
Democrats are using committee time and resources today to blame
Republicans for this horrendous crime. This is not an oversight
hearing. This is a blame Republicans so we don't have to take
responsibility for our own defund the police and soft on crime
policies.
Just a quick review of the facts tells us the individual
responsible for these heinous crimes was not a stranger to law
enforcement. In fact, the shooter was arrested last year for
violent threats against their mother. And no doubt about it,
this individual has a sad and troubled past with no parental
support. But Democrats, as usual, have intentionally jumped to
conclusions while ignoring the facts. Why? Because it's
politically convenient to blame your political opponents.
It's easier to blame Republicans than have a serious
discussion about the rise of violent crimes across the nation,
including this individual's heinous crimes at Club Q in
Colorado. It's easier, but it's also irresponsible and
reckless.
Instead, we should be focused on the alarming rise of
violent crime across our country today, crimes that target all
races and ethnicities. We are seeing rises in threats and
crimes across many communities and institutions, including
historically Black colleges and universities, Asian
communities, Jewish communities, and Christian communities.
Churches and pro-life institutions are facing a historic
increase in violence and targeted attacks which go largely
underreported. The Department of Justice has remained fairly
silent as well.
The rise in crime in America is the second-largest concern
for Americans, second only to this administration's inflation
crisis. Recent data shows that violent crime increased by 4.2
percent nationwide over the first six months of 2022.
In New York, violent crime increased by more than 40
percent compared to 2021. In Los Angeles, homicides reached
their highest levels in 15 years during the first half of 2020.
In New Orleans, homicides increased by 40 percent. Right here
in D.C., homicides were up 14 percent from 2020 to 2021.
Crime is simply out of control in large Democrat-led
cities. The extent of the rise in crime, however, may even be
worse than the current data shows. Recent reporting revealed
the FBI's national crime data for 2021 was largely incomplete,
lacking data from 37 percent of law enforcement agencies
nationwide. The FBI's national crime data does not even include
full crime reports from New York, Los Angeles, two of the
largest and most crime-stricken cities in the country.
On this committee, we should be using our time and
resources to conduct oversight into the rise of violent crimes
committed against all Americans and organizations. Everyday
Americans, no matter what side of the aisle, are living in the
high crime environment.
Democrats' defund the police movement has successfully
taken resources from and crushed the morale of police forces
across the country. Without the police, we lose our first line
of defense for victims of all crime.
In addition, Democrats have focused on electing leftist
prosecutors with soft-on-crime policies and allowing crime to
run rampant in the United States. No one wants to see horrific
events like what happened in Colorado and Florida occurring in
America. More needs to be done to reverse soft-on-crime
policies and refund the police to make the streets of America's
cities and towns safe.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today,
especially about the spike in crime across the country,
underpolicing, and increase in violence against all Americans.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And I yield back.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
Before we introduce our witnesses, I'd like to ask
unanimous consent to allow Congress Members David Cicilline and
Mondaire Jones to participate in today's hearing for the
purposes of asking questions.
Without objection, so ordered.
Now we will introduce our first panel of witnesses. Please
note that these witnesses will only be giving statements; they
will not be taking questions.
First, we will hear from Michael Anderson, a survivor of
the Club Q shooting.
Then we will hear from Mr. Matthew Haynes, founding owner
of Club Q.
Finally, we will hear from Mr. James Slaugh, a survivor of
the Club Q shooting.
And the witnesses will be unmuted so we can swear them in.
Please raise your right hand.
Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to
give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
so help you God?
Let the record show that the witnesses answered in the
affirmative.
Thank you.
Without objection, your written statements will be made
part of the historical record of this meeting.
With that, Mr. Anderson, you are now recognized for five
minutes for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL ANDERSON, SURVIVOR OF CLUB Q SHOOTING
Mr. Anderson. To the distinguished members of the House
Oversight Committee, thank you for inviting us here today.
Growing up in Lakeland, Florida, I was taught in my private
religious school and by many conservative voices to hate who I
was, that being born gay was something to reject.
A young person should never have to feel that way. So, I
waited silent and suffering until I was 16, and then I came
out.
It was places like gay bars and clubs that helped me
embrace who I was and formed me into the man I am today. Club Q
was and will, once again, be a safe place, not just for the
LGBTQ community, but for everyone else, too.
If you are fortunate enough to intimately know LGBTQ
people, you will find some of the kindest, funniest, accepting,
and most welcoming people. Those are the people that found a
safe place in Club Q and deserve to, once again, have that safe
space.
On November 19, 2022, a deranged shooter entered Club Q
armed with an assault rifle, a pistol, an incredibly disturbing
amount of ammunition, and an even more disturbing amount of
hatred in their heart, all while cowardly hiding behind a
bulletproof vest.
The shooter entered our safe space and our home with the
intention of killing as many people as possible as quickly as
possible. They used a military-style weapon that exists solely
for the intention of killing other human beings and began to
hunt us down as if our lives meant nothing.
I was bartending that evening when the attack began. I felt
more terrified than I ever have before in my life. I ran for my
life that night and hid, praying and hoping the violence would
end. When I stared down the barrel of that gun, I realized I
stood no chance against a weapon of that power, magazine
capacity, and seemingly automatic firing rate.
While I prepared for my life to end in that moment, I
prayed, I panicked, and I prayed some more. God must have heard
my prayers because two brave men stopped the shooter moments
before he would have inevitably found me.
I saw my friend lying on the floor, bleeding out, knowing
there was little to no chance of surviving that bullet wound. I
had to tell him good-bye while I continued to fear for my life
not knowing if the attack was truly over.
I can still hear the rapid firing of bullets today. It's a
sound I may never forget. It's a sound I hope no one here or
anywhere else in this country has to hear.
I say all of this not because it's easy to do so, but
because it's important to do so.
I plead you all to appeal to your heart, your morality, and
your humanity to do something about this issue. I want to thank
President Biden for fighting to reinstate the assault weapons
ban, and I sincerely hope you will support that reform so that
we may try to prevent more people from needlessly dying at the
hands of that weapon.
Not only am I embarrassed for our country's international
reputation of inaction on gun reform, but I am, frankly,
disgusted.
Between 1994 and 2004, America's mass shooting incidents
dropped dramatically. Following the expiration of the assault
weapons ban, which the Republican Party allowed to expire under
President Bush, we now have an epidemic of domestic terrorism
and violence.
The time to do something is now. What needs to be done is
placing the lives of children and adults above our unhealthy
obsession with assault rifles, and you are some of the ones who
can make a difference.
Many in our government say nothing can be done, this
epidemic of violence is just the price we must pay for freedom
in this country.
That is a lie. The facts speak for themselves, and your
denial of this gun violence reality is not a policy proposal.
I encourage you all to work together to save our children
and adults, and, in turn, save ourselves and the soul of our
nation.
To the politicians and activists who accuse LGBTQ people of
grooming children and being abusers, shame on you. As leaders
of our country, it is your obligation to represent all of us,
not just the ones you happen to agree with. Hate speech turns
into hate action, and actions based on hate almost took my life
from me at 25 years old.
I beg you all to consider your words before you speak them,
for someone may use those words to justify action, action that
may take someone's life.
To my fellow LGBTQ community, events like this are designed
to discourage us from speaking and living our truth. They are
designed to scare us from living openly, courageously, and
proudly. We must not succumb to fear. We must look prouder and
louder than ever before. We must continue to be who we are, for
who we are is exactly who we are meant to be.
And to the children watching this, feeling you may not be
like the other kids, I understand you and I see you. You
deserve to be exactly who you are no matter what anyone else
has to say.
In the words of my personal icon, Christina Aguilera, ``You
are beautiful, no matter what they say. Words can't bring you
down, so don't let them bring you down today.''
To Chairman Maloney, I thank you for making this a
priority. To the House Oversight Committee, thank you for
hearing us today. I hope my truth can help usher America into
its next and greatest chapter yet.
My name is Michael Anderson. I am 25 years old. I am a
proud gay man. And now I am a survivor of a mass shooting. I
hope we can work together to end this carnage in our country.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you very much.
With that, we now recognize Mr. Haynes.
You are now recognized for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF MATTHEW HAYNES, FOUNDING OWNER OF CLUB Q
Mr. Haynes. Thank you and good morning.
My name is Matthew Haynes, and I am the founding owner of
Club Q in Colorado Springs.
I would first like to acknowledge and thank our local LGBTQ
organizations, the city of Colorado Springs, the state of
Colorado, and the national team at GLAAD and so many other
organizations for the efforts and support they have all
provided to our community.
Thank you, Chairman Maloney, for such an accurate and
telling opening statement. And thank you, the House Oversight
Committee, for creating the space and time to meet with us
today.
I know that we, our Club Q community, are in the thoughts
and prayers of so many of you. Unfortunately, these thoughts
and prayers alone are not saving lives. They are not changing
the rhetoric of hate.
None of us ever imagined that our little bar in Colorado
Springs would be the target of the next hate crime. And I,
again, repeat we were targeted for the next hate crime.
Last week, 305 charges were filed against the Club Q
shooter. Forty-eight of these charges were hate-crime related.
The number 305 alone graphically illustrates just how
heinous this act was and how many people in this community were
impacted. It also illustrates how much damage can be done when
you take hate and access to military-style assault weapons.
Putting those together is total carnage. We were lucky that
night that the casualties were not much higher.
When we opened 20 years ago, Colorado Springs was a very
different place. I am proud to have remained in Colorado
Springs over the years, even when we did not feel welcome.
Club Q has been a home for the community for 20 years. We
are proud to say it will, once again, become our home. One man
full of hate will not destroy us.
Now is a critical time for national, state, local,
community, and religious leaders to drop the politics and work
with our leaders and small business owners to support and
affirm LGBTQ events, venues, communities, and most importantly,
people.
We need safe places like Club Q more than ever. And we need
you, our leaders, to support and protect us. We have received
hundreds of hate comments. I cannot read them all, but I'm
going to read you a few examples.
``I woke up to the wonderful news that five mentally
unstable faggots and lesbians and 18 injured. The only thing
I'm mad about is that the faggots had courage to subdue the
wonderful killer. I hope more shootings happen. Have a blessed
day.''
``The shooter was doing God's work, five less faggots, not
enough. Those that stopped him are the devil. All gays should
die.''
This is hate. It is not just us that is experiencing this.
Our hero, Army veteran Rich Fierro, and his wife Jessica told
me that they and their daughter have also been receiving
similar hate messages.
Finally, my husband and I had the honor to attend the White
House ceremony for the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act
yesterday. It was honestly the first joy and pride I have felt
since these horrific events at Club Q.
And while the protections for marriage like my own were
signed into Federal law, I could not help but reflect that 169
Members of Congress voted against that bill; 169 of your
colleagues, hiding behind excuses and schematics and other
reasons, sent a message to me, and it was a clear message, that
the entire community--I'm sorry--to me and the entire community
that you do not respect my marriage.
And through your inaction and your vote, you as a leader
send the clear message it is OK not to respect the basic human
rights of loving who you love, and it is OK to disrespect and
not support our marriages.
We are being slaughtered and dehumanized across this
country in communities you took oaths to protect. LGBTQ issues
are not political issues. They are not lifestyles. They are not
beliefs. They are not choices. They are basic human rights.
And so, I ask you today not simply what are you doing to
safeguard LGBTQ Americans, but rather, what are you or other
leaders doing to make America unsafe for LGBTQ people?
Club Q is grieving. We are rebuilding. We are fighting.
Let's stop this from happening again.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you very much.
And, Mr. Slaugh, you are now recognized for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF JAMES SLAUGH, SURVIVOR OF CLUB Q SHOOTING
Mr. Slaugh. Thank you.
My name is James Slaugh, and I want to thank the House
Oversight Committee and Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney for allowing
me to share my story today.
I want to start with my coming out story as it involves my
family, their support, and, in the beginning, homophobia.
My sister Charlene actually helped pave the way for me to
come out, for me to feel safe. She was forced out of the closet
by our mother and ultimately forced out of the house.
When she was, our household went through a transformation.
In the end, after a long process of learning and understanding,
our mother chose her children and accepted who we are.
It was this road that allowed me to feel safe enough at 24
years old to say, ``Hey, mom, I like guys,'' in a conversation.
She recently passed away, but before she died, for the past 15
years, she became an advocate for our community. She chose
love, and love will win in the end. And this goes especially in
her religious circles who dehumanized us.
The events of November 19 were a nightmare come true and
one of my biggest fears. Right before midnight on the eve of
the Transgender Day of Remembrance, my boyfriend Jancarlos and
I were about to leave Club Q when a shooter walked in.
Several pops rang out and I immediately felt a searing pain
in my arm. I fell over on the ground, knowing I had been shot
in my right arm. It wasn't working, but I was able to call 911.
I saw everyone on the ground, glass panes shattered, and
blood running from my arm and chest where shrapnel had come
through. Jancarlos was next to me, shot in the leg but
thankfully alive.
To my horror, my sister Charlene was bleeding out. She had
been shot over five times. My heart rended as she tried to dial
911 with her good arm outstretched. I called out to her, and I
heard no response.
I don't want to imagine what may happen had the shooter not
been taken down that night. Five wonderful people were still
murdered and may we never forget their names--Ashley Paugh,
Raymond Green Vance, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, and Kelly
Loving. We miss each of you.
Club Q was a second home and safe space not just for me,
but for all of us. Outside of these spaces, we are continually
being dehumanized, marginalized, and targeted.
The fear-based and hateful rhetoric surrounding the LGBTQ+
community, especially around trans individuals and drag
performers, leads to violence, it incites violence. We
shouldn't have to fear being shot when we go to our safe spaces
or anywhere for that matter.
It was only after this violation of our safe space that I
came to realize, though, we have a lot more love in this world.
Before sunrise, we were already receiving messages from all
over the world with affirmations of love, people we have never
met giving us their best wishes. A family friend immediately
started a GoFundMe, and we've experienced a ton of support.
When I left the hospital, I was brought to tears just by
the memorial that had been created in front of the club, in
front of my safe space.
I want to thank the Colorado victims' advocates who have
been instrumental in our recovery and helping with funds and,
of course, the staff at GLAAD who have simply been amazing in
helping me use my voice.
Hate rhetoric from politicians, religious leaders, and
media outlets is at the root of the attacks like at Club Q, and
it needs to stop now, rhetoric that makes people less than for
being different, rhetoric that threatens to silence what sports
we can play, what bathrooms we can use, how we define our
family, and who I can marry.
Every American, especially those elected to positions of
power, has a responsibility and a choice to use their words
consciously. Hate starts with speech. The hateful rhetoric
you've heard from elected leaders is the direct cause of the
horrific shooting at Club Q. We need elected leaders to
demonstrate language that reflects love and understanding, not
hate and fear.
I urge LGBTQ+ Americans and allies to join together today
as one community. Hateful people want to drive us back into
closets and to live our lives in fear, but we cannot be afraid.
No bullets will stop us from being proud of who we are or will
injure the support and love that exists in our community.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you for sharing your incredibly
powerful testimony with us today. We appreciate your taking the
time to be with us, to join with our committee hearing. And you
are all excused. Thank you so much.
We will briefly recess while the panels switch.
[Recess.]
Chairwoman Maloney. The committee will come to order, and
we will now introduce our second panel of witnesses, who will
be taking questions.
First, we will hear from Ms. Kelley Robinson, the new
president of the Human Rights Campaign.
Then we will hear from Ms. Olivia Hunt, policy director of
the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Then we will hear from Dr. Ilan Meyer, distinguished senior
scholar for public policy at the Williams Institute.
Then we will hear from Mr. Charles Fain Lehman, fellow at
the Manhattan Institute.
Then we will hear from Ms. Jessie Pocock, CEO and executive
director of Inside Out Youth Services.
Finally, we will hear from Mr. Brandon Wolf, survivor of
the Pulse Nightclub shooting.
The witnesses will be unmuted now so that we may swear you
in.
Please raise your right hand.
Do you swear and affirm that the testimony you're about to
give is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Let the record show that the witnesses answered in the
affirmative.
Thank you.
Without objection, your written statements will be part of
the record.
With that, Ms. Robinson, you are now recognized for your
testimony. Congratulations on your election.
STATEMENT OF KELLEY ROBINSON, PRESIDENT, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
Ms. Robinson. Thank you, Chair Maloney. Thank you, Ranking
Member Comer and members of the committee, for the opportunity
to testify today.
My name is Kelly Robinson. My pronouns are she, her, hers.
And I'm the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the
nation's largest civil rights organization working to achieve
equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer
people.
On behalf of our more than 3 million members and
supporters, I am honored to testify at this important hearing
and to demand united action to end the rising tide of hate and
violence targeting our community.
I'm so grateful for the strength and courage of the Club Q
survivors testifying here today. Compounding this tragedy is
the fact that this incident is just one example of the violence
that has shattered LGBTQ+ lives, our families, our communities
in the past few years.
Violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities are
the tragic result of a society that devalues our lives,
particularly the lives of Black and Brown transgender and
gender nonconforming people.
And this hate and violence is on the rise. It's fueled by
nearly unfettered access to guns, political extremism, and
rhetoric that is deliberately devised to make our community
less safe, less equal, and less free.
Violence has become a lived reality for so many in our
community. Even in 2021, one in five of all hate crimes
reported to the FBI were motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias.
These violent threats disproportionately impact transgender
people. Over the last 10 years, the Human Rights Campaign has
tracked over 300 incidents of fatal violence against
transgender and gender nonconforming people. In 2022 so far,
we've recorded the murders of 35 people. Among the community
members lost this year, 85 percent were people of color and 85
percent were transgender women.
These acts of hatred have devastating consequences. Often
these experiences leave community members, especially
marginalized people, more likely to live in poverty, to
experience housing instability and homelessness, and to lack
access to opportunities that would allow them and their
families to thrive.
This violence does not happen in a vacuum. Anti-LGBTQ+
lawmakers' efforts directly increase the risk of violence
facing our communities today.
State lawmakers have advanced an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+
bills to restrict where and how we can freely and openly be our
true selves. In 2022, 344 of these bills were introduced across
23 states. More than 25 of these bills were ultimately enacted
across 13 states, 17 of which have a disproportionate or
targeted impact on transgender people.
These bills often target the youngest among us, harming
children and their families. They also target the trained
professionals like doctors and teachers who care for them.
These unrelenting efforts by extremist lawmakers help
reinforce inflammatory narratives about our community
regardless of whether or not the underlying bills are enacted.
These narratives have been weaponized many times in the
past against our community to enact discriminatory laws, to
encourage extremist rhetoric, and to enable violence.
The recent increase in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric amplified by
lawmakers is fueling growing attacks in our communities. It's
happening in statehouses, in schools, and on street corners.
Yesterday, we released a report identifying 24 hospitals
and providers across 22 states attacked online following
misleading and inflammatory social media posts from bad actors.
Just last week, California State Senator Scott Wiener,
himself a gay Jewish man, was the target of a bomb threat
because of his support working with trans youth and their
families. Included in the threat were two words: pedophile and
groomer.
These threats are being made in every corner of our country
targeting LGBTQ+ people, our spaces, and our allies. It's
happening in Tulsa where vandals firebombed a donut shop after
it hosted an art installation run by drag queens. It happened
in Texas after a pastor uploaded a video asserting that gay
people be, quote, ``lined up against the wall and shot in the
back of the head.''
We must take action. We must take action to prevent future
violence and harm against my communities.
First, social media companies, lawmakers, and other
stakeholders must establish guidelines and practices to fight
disinformation and hate online.
Second, we must pass the Equality Act to level the playing
field and ensure that LGBTQ+ people are protected from
discrimination.
And third, we have to pass commonsense gun safety measures
to protect our communities from the most extreme acts of
violence.
Ultimately, we all have to work to repudiate anti-LGBTQ+
rhetoric and falsehoods in the strongest possible terms because
our lives are quite literally on the line.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
Then we will hear from Ms. Olivia Hunt, policy director of
the National Center for Transgender Equality.
STATEMENT OF OLIVIA HUNT, POLICY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR
TRANSGENDER EQUALITY
Ms. Hunt. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the committee.
Thank you very much for convening this hearing and shining a
light on the causes of the increasing violence facing the LGBTQ
community.
Working at the National Center for Transgender Equality has
been a dream job for me since before I started law school, and
there's been no greater honor in my career than being invited
here today to speak with the committee on behalf of my
community.
This has been a dream job for me, but also a job that I
hope will one day no longer be necessary. The past year's
events make it clear, though, that day is still a long way off.
A month ago, my colleagues and I prepared a remembrance
report honoring the 47 known transgender Americans whose lives
have been lost to violence since November 2021.
We released it on November 18. Before dawn on Transgender
Day of Remembrance, November 20, the shooting at Club Q meant
it was already out of date.
Like all the acts of fatal violence targeting our
community, the shooting at Club Q didn't happen in a vacuum.
This summer, Representative Comer tweeted that we need to
examine the root causes of increased violence in America.
Today, we're doing just that.
This violence was catalyzed by a cultural climate filled
with anti-LGBTQ legislation, think pieces debating the validity
of our humanity under the guise of just asking questions,
politicians and public figures encouraging their bases to
target and threaten LGBTQ-friendly events and organizations,
and fearmongering in the press and on social media.
Most of these attacks and the misinformation that fuels
them are targeted at trans people and far too often at trans
youth. In 2022, NCTE tracked 207 different pieces of anti-trans
legislation across 35 states. Twelve states enacted at least
one of these bills. More than 80 percent of them targeted the
rights of vulnerable trans youth and young adults.
In addition, this year politicians in several states used
administrative rather than legislative processes to attack the
rights of trans people. For instance, in Texas the attorney
general misused his authority to harass the supportive families
of trans children, falsely labeling their support of their
children as child abuse.
When politicians and pundits treat trans people's lives as
a matter of public debate, the media responds in kind, giving
anti-trans advocates a larger platform to share their hostile
rhetoric.
Sensationalist headlines lead stories that care more about
attracting clicks and advertising impressions than in reporting
the facts.
For example, just days before the Club Q shooting, The New
York Times published a front-page article perpetuating
misinformation about gender-affirming care for children.
Even when anti-trans policies are defeated, they impact the
transgender public. In a 2021 study by The Trevor Project, 85
percent of trans youth reported that the public debates around
their civil rights and their place in society left them scared,
stressed, angry, and hopeless.
Even more concerning, the same dehumanizing rhetoric that
harms trans youth also inflames anti-LGBTQ sentiment among the
general public. When politicians and the media paint trans
people as something to be treated with fear and disgust, people
who are already receptive to that message take it to heart and
it reinforces their prejudices. In their minds, trans people
either become victims to be saved from ourselves or villains to
be punished.
One example of this in action is the misuse of the term
``groomer.'' Anti-LGBTQ activists have appropriated this
terminology used by survivors of childhood sexual abuse and
used it to slander LGBTQ people and our allies as predatory,
harmful toward children.
In reality, trans people are significantly more likely to
be the victims of sexual abuse than perpetrators of it. And now
this misused terminology has become part of the political
discourse around trans people and is invoked as a reason to
further restrict our rights in the name of protecting children.
This same rhetoric has subsequently been used as
justification for violent anti-LGBTQ activism. Heavily armed
protesters have made numerous attacks or attempts at
intimidation against family friendly Pride events and drag
performances around the country.
Even hospitals have been targeted with bomb threats and
intimidation tactics based on social media figures spreading
baseless stories that the providers are, in their words,
``mutilating children.''
There's a straight line that can be drawn from the
legislation trying to strip trans people of our human rights to
the increasingly hostile and inflammatory rhetoric portraying
us as a threat to society to the acts of violence that have
taken far too many lives.
The people engaged in these efforts, from the politicians
and media figures who normalize the dehumanization of trans
people to the influencers who vilify us on social media to the
people brandishing firearms and making bomb threats, bear
culpability for the violence that ensues.
The Williams Institute estimates that there are 1.6 million
Americans aged 13 and up who are transgender. We live in every
state in the nation. We are librarians, we are your baristas,
your postal workers, your IT department. We're your children,
your doctors, your nurses, and your ministers. Trans people are
also your constituents.
Trans people are part of the fabric of American society. We
belong, we deserve to be protected, and we matter.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you very much.
And, Dr. Meyer, you are now recognized for your testimony.
Dr. Meyer.
STATEMENT OF ILAN MEYER, DISTINGUISHED SENIOR SCHOLAR FOR
PUBLIC POLICY, THE WILLIAMS INSTITUTE
Mr. Meyer. Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member Comer, and distinguished
members of the committee, I'm a public health researcher,
senior scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute at
UCLA School of Law.
My area of expertise is the study of the effects of social
stress related to prejudice and discrimination on the health of
LGBTQ populations.
LGBTQ rights have seen significant developments in the past
few decades, but homophobia and transphobia are embedded in
American history and culture, and they produce stress, which I
refer to as minority stress.
This stress intersects with stigma and prejudice based on
other statuses so that different LGBTQ subgroups, such as LGBTQ
people of color, experience this social stress differently. But
every LGBTQ person has to learn to cope with stress related to
stigma throughout their lives.
Studies have concluded that minority stress experienced by
LGBTQ people can result in an array of mental health problems,
including depressive symptoms, substance use, and suicide
ideation and attempt.
In recent years we have seen a resurgence of anti-LGBTQ
rhetoric and violence, including the recent shooting in Club Q
in Colorado. But violence against LGBTQ people is not new.
In several recent studies analyzing data collected by the
Department of Justice as part of the National Crime
Victimization Survey, my colleagues and I found that the odds
of experiencing a violent victimization, defined as rape or
sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated or simple assault, were
four times higher for LGBTQ than non-LGBTQ people.
Assessing victimization among transgender versus cisgender
people specifically, we found that transgender people had four
times the rate of victimization.
We also assessed the distribution of hate crimes, a subset
of violent victimization, and found that LGBTQ people
experienced eight times as many hate crimes as non-LGBTQ
people.
LGBTQ people are socialized, like most people in society,
to believe that being LGBTQ is wrong and to believe in
stereotypical and stigmatizing ideas, such as that as an LGBTQ
person they will never find happiness and a family who will
love them.
As children and youth, LGBTQ individual often experience
rejection and even violence by families of origin. Many are
bullied at school, and some sent to so-called conversion
therapies that teach them the very stereotypes and self-hatred
that mental health professionals say they should learn to undo.
Evidence also shows that LGBTQ people are more likely to
experience socioeconomic stress, including higher rates of
poverty, housing instability, and food insecurity. Specific
subpopulations, including transgender people, bisexuals, LGBTQ
people of color, and older LGBTQ people, are especially
vulnerable.
Transgender people have seen fewer positive social and
legal changes in the past few decades than did sexual minority
people and an increase in hostile public rhetoric in recent
years.
Gender nonaffirmation is a particular stressor that affects
the health outcomes of transgender individuals. Gender
nonaffirmation refers to the denial of recognition of a
transgender person's gender and, more globally, their dignity
and humanity.
Gender-affirming treatment is one form of gender
affirmation. Research has shown that transgender individuals
who receive hormone therapy or surgical care that they needed
had lower prevalence of one-year suicide attempt as compared
with those who had not received the care they needed.
In summary, research shows that stigma, violence, and
discrimination remain pervasive stressors for LGBTQ people.
While same-sex marriages have become more accepted in American
society, LGBTQ people still lack many nondiscrimination
protections that would have been afforded them under the
Equality Act. A lot more needs to be done to afford LGBTQ
people equality and dignity and improve their health and well-
being.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you so much.
Mr. Lehman, you're now recognized for your testimony.
Mr. Lehman.
STATEMENT OF CHARLES FAIN LEHMAN, FELLOW, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE
FOR POLICY RESEARCHCONTRIBUTING EDITOR, CITY JOURNAL
Mr. Lehman. Thank you to the committee for the opportunity
to address you today.
Before I begin, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the
members of the prior panel and their bravery in speaking out
about the horrific violence perpetrated against them. Victims
of hate crime deserve to be heard, and I applaud the committee
for giving them this platform.
I am here today in my capacity as an analyst of crime,
particularly hate crimes. Bias-motivating offending is a
serious and pressing issue in the United States. Some 7,300
hate crimes were reported to the FBI in 2021, including nearly
1,400 offenses targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender
individuals on the basis of their identity.
Due to community underreporting, the transition to the
National Incident-Based Reporting System, varying definitions
of hate crime by state, and well-established problems with the
FBI's hate crime data in general, these figures are almost
certainly a dramatic undercount.
Given this opportunity to address lawmakers, my priority is
to advise you on how best to reduce the frequency of such
offenses. In my limited time, therefore, I want to argue that
the best way to combat hate crime is to engage it like other
kinds of crime. Hate-based offenders are not specialists, and
the traditional criminal justice system is an effective way to
control hate crime.
Many people, sadly, bear some animus toward others on the
basis of their identity, including toward LGBTQ people. But the
number of people who bear animus is almost certainly much
larger than the number of people who will commit a hate crime.
This is, I submit, because bias-motivated offending also
requires the antisocial tendencies and lack of self-control
which characterizes criminal offending generally. To commit a
hate crime, it is not enough to hate. One must also feel
entitled to act out that hate on another individual.
As a consequence, it is little surprise that hate crime
offenders are not, as I say, specialists. They tend to offend
in nonbias-motivated ways, too.
Arrest data recently released by the New York Division of
Criminal Justice Services captures this phenomenon. While hate
crime offenders vary demographically from other offenders, they
have similar or more serious criminal histories across a
variety of measures, from frequency of prior conviction to risk
of rearrest following arraignment.
The tragedy which motivated today's hearing is a cardinal
example. As has been widely reported, the Club Q shooter had
previously been arrested for making violent threats against
their own mother, an arrest that followed a, quote, ``lengthy
standoff.''
That case was dismissed because the family declined to
cooperate. But if prosecutors succeeded in eliciting that
cooperation, five people might be alive today.
El Paso law enforcement also failed to subject the shooter
to Colorado's red flag law, a sign that they did not see the
risk the shooter posed to the community.
Saying hate offenders are like other offenders does not
mean that hate crimes are not different from other crimes.
Bias-motivated offending is uniquely toxic to the mutual
tolerance which makes a free and democratic society possible.
Americans have the freedom to disagree about issues which touch
on matters of identity. Such disagreement is possible in no
small part because we refuse to tolerate the acting out of
animus in violence. Hate crime enhancements are a proportional
response to the egregiousness of such offenses.
What the preceding does mean, though, is that the criminal
justice system is the correct venue for reducing the frequency
of bias-motivated offenses. This is particularly true as
compared to approaches which aim to control hate crime by
educating against or otherwise reducing bias.
To be sure, reducing bias is a laudable goal even if it
remains an open question how to do so effectively. But at the
population level, most people who hate will never convert their
hate into a crime; meaning, the education produces little
prevention per hour or dollar expended.
Rather, if the members of this committee want to more
effectively combat hate crime, they should do so by supporting
the criminal justice system. Increase funding for police hiring
to remediate the decline in police employment per capita since
the Great Recession. Better fund police investigations integral
to clearing hate crime cases. Support state and local
prosecutors in forming specialized hate crime bureaus,
including by coordinating information sharing in the
challenging area of hate crime prosecution. Increase Federal
hate crime penalties and encourage the Department of Justice to
pursue hate crime charges in states where local laws are
insufficient, such as in New York state where the Buffalo
grocery shooter cannot be executed for his heinous offense, a
situation which also obtains in Colorado.
Hate crime against LGBTQ people and otherwise is a serious
issue and we must take it seriously. Doing that means treating
hate criminals like the criminals they are and bringing the
full power of the justice system to bear on them.
Thank you for your time, and I welcome the committee's
questions.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you very much.
And thank you, Ms. Pocock. You are now recognized for your
testimony.
STATEMENT OF JESSIE POCOCK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR, INSIDE OUT YOUTH SERVICES
Ms. Pocock. Thank you, Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member
Comer, and members of the committee.
My name is Dr. Pocock, she, her. It's the honor of my life
to be the executive director and CEO of Inside Out Youth
Services, where, since 1990, we've built access, equity, and
power with LGBTQIA2+ young people. I believe my job is one of
the most joyful and, sadly, necessary work that exists.
Inside Out is the only LGBTQ-specific center in Colorado
Springs. I don't know how many Inside Out alumni survived that
night at Club Q, but I know there is at least one who didn't.
Let me remind us all, this is not OK. This is not normal.
We all want what's best for our youth. We want them to be
healthy and have opportunities to develop skills for meaningful
and productive adulthood. We want them to feel loved and
included in their schools, on the sports field, in their places
of worship, at work, in their homes. We want them to survive.
I'd like to share the love and inclusion we see at our
community center daily. Teens immediately welcome new youth to
make sure they're included. Peer advisors refer struggling
youth to our trusted staff who support them. We see a culture
of asking for help, spreading kindness, using our food bank and
free therapist. We see dancing and dinners, guitar lessons,
crochet, Disney movies, Dungeons and Dragons.
We see trust, the single most protective factor that exists
for youth. We see hope. Our walls are decorated with statements
like, ``Someone is so proud of you,'' and ``I understand that I
don't understand, but I stand for you.''
Outside of our center, we see hate. A local school board
member recently shared a meme that says, When you're
transgender and you're pregnant, next to a picture of poop on
an ultrasound screen.
It is not OK that we expect more maturity and compassion
from our youth than the public servants entrusted with their
care. Daily, our staff sit with youth experiencing suicidal
thoughts who are impacted by these types of harmful and
inaccurate messages.
It is not the fact these youth are LGBTQ that puts them at
risk. It's the way our culture views them. Their mental health
is impacted when politicians legislate away their rights, when
they witness unmitigated hate speech on social media. This is
not normal. This is not OK. These are kids.
And this is why, in addition to direct service, Inside Out
advocates alongside youth for inclusive policies. Having one
safe space is not enough. LGBTQ youth deserve a safe nation.
``Scared,'' since the shooting at Club Q, that word keeps
coming up for me. Youth are asking us to be more incognito,
less obviously LGBTQ. They're scared they'll be the next
target. This isn't OK.
Let me remind us, those at Club Q were the ones who fought
and saved lives.
We have funded police departments here, but we need police
to enforce laws that prevent violence. Here is the truth:
Politicians and pundits are spreading lies about LGBTQ+ people,
falsely and dangerously stating that LGBTQ Americans are
threats to children. This false rhetoric fuels hate and
division, and it works.
Inside Out's community center is respected as a best
practice model for youth development locally, statewide and
nationally. We are not the predators. We are the ones saving
the lives of those preyed on through hate and violence.
I implore you, start legislating the real problems--
commercialized bigotry, racism, hatred, and mass murderers'
access to guns. But, even simpler, I implore you to treat us as
humans. LGBTQ people are humans who have families, who love
and, tragically, who bleed.
Before you post on social media, think about the youth who
read your words. Words can harm, but words can spread
compassion. Words can condemn those who speak and act out of
hate. Even if you don't understand, we need you to stand for
us.
My favorite note says, ``We noticed when you were gone
because we do.'' Notice who is gone: Ashley Paugh, Raymond
Green Vance, Daniel Aston, Derek Rump, Kelly Loving. Notice
whether your public service is in honor of their lives, or
whether it is in service to the hate that contributed to their
deaths. Notice who the real predators are and hold them
accountable. Notice who is gone.
These young people deserve the very best of us. Stand for
them, even when you don't understand. And, if you don't, come
to our center in Colorado Springs. We've got a community of
brilliant young people who will invite you in and help you
learn.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you very much.
And now, Mr. Wolf, you are now recognized. Mr. Wolf?
STATEMENT OF BRANDON WOLF, SURVIVOR OF PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING
Mr. Wolf. Thank you so much, Chair Maloney, and the
committee for having me today.
You know, being LGBTQ in America in 2022 means looking over
your shoulder before you hold hands with someone you love. It
means watching your very humanity be litigated day in and day
out on every cable news network and across every social media
platform. It means wondering if today is the day that hate
comes armed with a clenched fist, or worse, an AR-15. It means
wondering if, today, your little slice of normal, the thing you
told yourself you didn't deserve, comes to an end.
My day came on June 12, 2016. Pulse Nightclub was one of
the first places I ever went that I didn't look over my
shoulder, where I didn't stiffen my wrist or deepen my voice to
avoid detection. And, that night, everything about Pulse
Nightclub was normal. I went to the same bartender I always
went to, ordered the same drinks I always ordered.
And, as the night wound to a close, I stepped into the same
bathroom I'd been in hundreds of times before. There was a
poster on the wall with the painted faces of drag queens I knew
well. There was a half-empty cup teetering on the edge of the
sink like it might fall off. The water from the faucet was ice
cold that night.
There were gunshots, endless gunshots, the hair standing up
on the back of my neck, the stench of blood and smoke burning
the inside of my nose, the nervous huddle against a wall, a
girl trying desperately, so hard not to scream. And I could
feel her trembling on the tiles underneath us. There was a
sprint for the exit, all atop this bang, bang, bang from an
assault weapon.
A man filled with hate and armed with a Sig Sauer MCX
charged into Pulse in my city of Orlando, an LGBTQ safe space,
and murdered 49 of those we loved. My best friends, Drew and
Juan, took 19 of the over 110 rounds that man pumped into the
club.
I'll never forget the thousands of desperate calls I placed
to Drew, or his family's heartbroken screams when I had to tell
them that their child would not be coming home.
And I can never unsee both of their lifeless bodies in
cold, hard caskets.
For years, cynical politicians and greedy grifters have
joined forces with right-wing extremists to poor gasoline on
anti-LGBTQ hysteria and terrorize our community. My own
Governor, Ron DeSantis, has trafficked in that bigotry to feed
his insatiable political ambition and propel himself toward the
White House.
We have been smeared and defamed. Hundreds of bills have
been filed in order to erase us. Powerful figures have insisted
that the greatest threats this country face are a teacher with
they-them pronouns or someone in a wig reading Red Fish Blue
Fish. And all along, we warned that these shortsighted
political maneuvers would come with a human cost, but they've
continued anyway.
Even as queer kids told us that they were scared, that life
was getting less safe for them; even as hate violence has
escalated; as children's hospitals have faced mounting bomb
threats; as armed protesters started showing up at pride
festivals and brunches; as a donut shop in Oklahoma was fire-
bombed for daring to host a drag show; even as five innocent
people in Colorado Springs went into a space that was supposed
to be safe for them and came out in body bags, the attacks have
continued.
We can be better than that. We have to be better than that.
Right-wing extremism relies on this manufactured belief that
its poison is inevitable, that resistance is hopeless. But I
contend that taking a stand is necessary, that it is our duty.
We need to say without apology that people who endanger
entire marginalized communities for social media content and
fundraising fodder have no place in our politics. We need to
hold accountable those who traffic in venomous bigotry to score
cheap political points. We need to address how our obsession
with easy access to guns takes dangerous hatred and makes it
fatal. And we need to say unequivocally, right here, right now,
that LGBTQ lives matter, that trans lives matter, and that, in
this country, that is not up for debate.
Words have consequences. Unbridled hate comes at a cost.
Our stolen loved ones are not a talking point. They're missing
faces at birthday parties, empty seats at dinner tables. They
paid the price for militarized hate in this country.
It is high time that Congress gets serious about the cost
of anti-LGBTQ hatred and commit to honoring those in its
crosshairs with real actions.
The simple truth is this: We just want to live. Is that so
much to ask?
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. The gentleman's time has
expired.
I thank all the panelists.
I now recognize myself for five minutes for questions.
The violence that took place at Club Q follows years of
long efforts by some state lawmakers to erase LGBTQ+ people
from school curriculum, limit their access to healthcare, and
undermine their ability to fully participate in society.
Now, state lawmakers are not alone. There have been many
actions here in Congress pushing the same kind of draconian
extremist policies. For example, more than 30 House Republicans
introduced their own version of Florida's ``Don't Say Gay or
Trans,'' end quote, law, which would restrict Federal funding
for schools that include LGBTQI+ people in their curriculum.
I'd like to ask Ms. Robinson: How would a Federal policy
suppressing, even mentioning of LGBTQI+ people in classrooms
further undermine the ability of LGBTQI Americans to live
authentically and safely? Ms. Robinson?
Ms. Robinson. Thank you for the question. And it's so
critically important. What we teach our kids matters. We're
teaching curriculum that not only shows them who our history is
and what we can be in the future, but also what we value, who
matters, who deserves dignity and respect. If we erase LGBTQ+
people from the curriculum, it erases the value in our lives.
As Brandon said, this is our opportunity to be better, and
we can do that. And it starts with how we educate our children.
And I also want to be clear that, when we allow these
pieces of legislation to move forward that erase our
communities, that dehumanize us, what it does is create a
dangerous environment that does support and feed these seeds of
hatred that exist in our world. It's not only dangerous; it's
violent to our people.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
Ms. Pocock, what would a Federal Don't Say Gay or Trans law
mean for the LGBTQ1 youth navigating their identities and
communities across the country from your experience?
Ms. Pocock. Yes. You know, we worked really hard on a
similar Don't Say Gay bill in--that was being proposed in our--
in our state. And, you know, the truth is that we all need
mentors and examples that we can grow into and see ourselves
in. And, when our--when we as a nation are hiding our faces or
our experiences or our contributions to this nation, it really
impacts young people and their ability to see others like them,
and their ability to learn how we've contributed to this
nation.
But, more than that, it's erasure, and it hurts. And so,
our young people tell us that what they see and hear and feel
when school board members or politicians are advocating to
erase them is that they feel like they don't belong. They feel
like their public schools are not for them.
And so, it is so critically important that we are always
cheering these young people on. And one real simple way to do
that is to give them access to folks like me and those of us on
the panel who are LGBTQ and contributing, incredible human
beings in this world, because they can be, too. They just need
us to support them and show them how.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
Following the enactment of Florida's Don't Say Gay or Trans
law, anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric on social media surged by more than
400 percent, astonishingly.
Dr. Meyer, what is the relationship between this surge in
anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric and the kind of violence that took place
at Club Q last month? Turn on your----
Mr. Meyer. I think, as was mentioned already in the panel,
this kind of incitement encourages people to enact what they
think is righteous because of religious convictions and other
types of ideologies that are portrayed in the--on social media,
wrongly.
And clearly, this is creating an environment where such
violence is seen as not only acceptable, but, as I said,
righteous and desirable, and causing LGBT people a lot of harm
not only in the actual--those of them who actually experience
violence, but also everybody in the community who witnesses it.
Chairwoman Maloney. Well, my time has expired, but, as
Democrats--OK. I will come back at the end with more questions.
Well, as Democrats, we have pushed for policies to protect
and advance the health, safety, and rights of LGBTQ people.
My time is up, and I will ask more questions on the second
round, but now to Ms. Foxx.
Ms. Foxx. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Mr. Lehman, is crime increasing in America?
Mr. Lehman. It's hard to give a yes-or-no answer. I would
say certain categories of crime, homicide, car theft,
shootings, pretty uniformly over the past three years. Other
categories of crime, plausibly over the past year is a question
of how that compares to baseline. And, in certain cities,
dramatically across the board.
So, broadly yes.
Ms. Foxx. Yes. Are there particular parts of America that
are seeing larger increases in crime?
Mr. Lehman. I think, in general, crime is more common in
large cities. I would debate the reason why. Some of it is
concentration of population, but yes.
Ms. Foxx. OK. Do you have an idea of why crime is
increasing faster in these areas?
Mr. Lehman. I think there are a couple of factors. There
are, perhaps, just an easy answer many people are looking for.
I don't think they're easy answers. Certainly, policy is not
helping. Some of the--some of the--novelties jurisdictions have
reduced police capacity or have increased restrictions on
policing. That doesn't help the problem.
I do believe there is a longer-term issue with the capacity
of our criminal justice system since the early days of 2020
across the board.
Certainly, in those areas, though, policies are not
helping.
Ms. Foxx. So, for years, committee Democrats have called
for the defunding of the police. Has that made for good policy,
and has that reduced crime?
Mr. Lehman. I'll note that many jurisdictions have tried to
defund the police and weren't successful because it is
overwhelmingly unpopular. What I can say in the aggregate,
certainly jurisdictions that move forward with reducing police
funding are experiencing large increases in crime.
More generally, one of the few criminological findings that
we have that's pretty overwhelming in its certainty is that
more cops reduce crime. So, all else equal, if you spend less
on cops, you would expect crime to go up.
Mrs. Foxx. So, when--you just mentioned, when policing
budgets are cut, there seems to be an increase in crime. You
said more cops, less crime.
So, with that, when police budgets are cut, resulting in
fewer officers patrolling the communities, then I think we
could say the areas become less safe. Is that correct?
Mr. Lehman. All else equal, certainly.
Ms. Foxx. OK. So, in your writings, you've mentioned that
America's streets are likely underpoliced. Can you explain a
little more what you mean by that?
Mr. Lehman. Certainly, that draws in a couple of different
references. One is good estimates of America's police--a
police-to-population, rather, ratio relative to other developed
nations, we underperform the rest of the OECD on this measure,
or most of the rest of the OECD on this measure.
Another is that, for the amount of crime cost, the costs
associated with level of crime that police would produce, the
socially optimal--below the socially optimal level of spending
on police, or a third one is that, across a variety of
indicators, we have a lower police-per-capita ratio than we
did--about 2008 was the peak, before the Great Recession, which
suggests to me, given the rise in crime, that a stalling on the
crime decline at that point, we could be buying more safety
than we currently are.
Ms. Foxx. OK. I assume there is a connection between
something you've written: Fewer cops also mean more police
conduct.
Could you explain that phenomenon?
Mr. Lehman. Do you mean misconduct?
Ms. Foxx. Not--the--it says ``conduct.'' It may be
misconduct.
Mr. Lehman. I--I would assume misconduct. Yes. All else
equal, I would expect that more--fewer cops mean more burden on
the remaining cops. You would--there is a fixed quantity of
crime. The fact of fewer cops means more crimes. The quantity
of crime goes up, quantity of man-hours. There is a strong
empirical relationship between stress, burden, overwork, and
the risk that police officer will engage in use of force, that
a police officer will be complained about or reported. Fewer
cops put more strain.
Ms. Foxx. OK. And how could Congress help law enforcement
personnel better fight crime, if--if there is a way other than
putting more money in?
Mr. Lehman. Look, the first way is putting more money in,
I--I regret to tell the Representative, which is--you know,
policing America is highly local. Congress has basically three
things it can do. The Federal Government has three things it
could do.
Thing one is spend money. Thing two is coordinate
information sharing, encourage the sharing of expertise and
best practices. Thing three is fix data and data sharing. As I
talked about briefly, the FBI's hate crime reporting is a mess.
This is substantive of the fact that all crime reporting in
Americas is a massive mess. I'm happy to talk about this later.
But it's a huge issue for getting things done in crime
preventions generally and hate crime prevention specifically.
Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield back.
Mr. Lynch. [Presiding.] The chair now recognizes the
gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Brown, for five minutes.
Ms. Brown. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd first like to start off by thanking the chairwoman for
holding this hearing and for her tireless commitment to
advancing civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community and her long,
remarkable career. And just like to go on the record and say
that she will be missed.
On the topic that brings us here today, I was heartbroken
and stunned by the tragedy in Colorado Springs at Club Q.
Political violence and hatred targeted at the LGBTQ+ community
is completely unacceptable, and I want to thank the brave
survivors for testifying today and for sharing their story.
This important hearing ensures that the LGBTQ+ voices are
being heard, and that we are properly addressing the surge of
anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-trans hate.
So, I'd like to start off with Ms. Hunt.
Why do you think anti-LGBTQ hate has seen such a resurgence
in the political climate in recent months? Is it connected to
the midterms election, is this a broader trend, or both?
Ms. Hunt. Thank you for that question.
It is, unfortunately, a trend that we've seen over the past
six years of trans people increasingly being seen as an
acceptable target. It began in 2016 with the introduction of
HB2, the first of the major bathroom bills in North Carolina.
That was the first major piece of state legislation directly
targeting trans people and trans people's lives.
And that has kicked off a trend that has seen just an
increased selection of trans people in particular as being an
acceptable target for political attacks, for trying to score
points and move the needle a little bit without any negative
consequence, because we're just seen as an acceptable target to
so many people. And the dehumanizing rhetoric that comes up,
and that fuels the wave of violence that we're seeing is
inflamed by this treatment of us as an other, an acceptable
target. And that is a really disturbing and unsettling trend to
see as part of our political landscape.
Ms. Brown. Well, I appreciate your candor, and hope that we
can all recognize how the anti-LGBTQ hate is being weaponized,
unfortunately, by the extreme right for purposes none other
than to stoke fear and energize a backlash.
With that, Dr. Meyer, we have seen the extreme right use
its most powerful tool, right-wing media, in an effort to
spread the message of hate. How has right-wing media
contributed to the rise of anti-LGBTQ hate, specifically
against trans people and their ability to live their authentic
lives as themselves?
Mr. Meyer. Well, to tell you the truth, I do not understand
why, as Ms. Hunt just mentioned, transgender people have become
such a target. We know that in most jurisdictions, there is
more minority of the people. So, a lot of the hate that comes
this way, I have to assume is an excuse, as was mentioned here
already, and maybe to serve some political purposes that are--
seem to be--that seems to be an expedient way to achieve by
attacking transgender people.
The--the--the way that rhetoric has developed over the past
few years has been really concerning. And some of the things
that I find really disturbing is the way this rhetoric has
talked about they want to protect children from being
sexualized while that very notion, that talking about having
gay parents or talking about transgender people is sexualizing,
is completely wrong, has nothing to do with sex any more than
if you talk about a person having a mother and a father.
So, the purpose of this rhetoric is completely political, I
think.
Ms. Brown. Thank you for that, Dr. Meyer.
Are you aware of the extreme right targeting these anti-
LGBTQ messages at minority communities, and the African-
American community in particular?
Mr. Meyer. Well, of course, as I mentioned, homophobia and
transphobia are embedded in American culture and history, as is
racism, and the two combined create this environment where
attacking LGBT people of color and especially transgender women
of color are a huge target of hate.
Ms. Brown. Thank you.
And, with that, I see my time has expired.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Lynch. The gentlelady yields back.
The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Georgia, Mr.
Hice, for five minutes.
Mr. Hice. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And if I could take just 30 seconds, a point of personal
privilege, before I get started as this is my last full
committee hearing of my congressional career. And I just want
to say thank you to each of my colleagues. We've had a lot of
spirited debates over the years, and it's been an honor to be a
part of this.
I wish Chairwoman Maloney was still here. I want to wish
her the best as she goes on from here, and also soon-to-be
Chairman Comer, wishing him the best as well as he takes the
reins of this committee in the next Congress.
But I just say God bless each of you, and it's been an
honor to be here and to serve with you. And I thank you for
giving me a little time to say that.
We are hearing a lot about right-wing extremism and
violence. Obviously, violence of any type is a poison, as is
left-wing violence, and that which is the fuel that is thrown
on the fire by left-wing media. This is not a one-sided
argument. It goes on both sides, and it needs to be dealt with
on both sides.
What happened at Club Q is a tragedy that should never,
ever, ever happen in the United States, and I do want to
commend the brave actions of U.S. Army veteran Richard Fierro
for his quick actions that saved the lives of who knows how
many other additional individuals who were in harm's way.
But that said, I think it's a shame that, once again, here
we are in this committee--as the majority is heading out the
door, this committee's responsibility to deal with Federal
Government oversight continues to be ignored. We are dealing
with things that this committee has not dealt with in this
country, be it inflation or energy or border or the Afghanistan
withdrawal, and a host of other things that this committee
continues to ignore. And I think that's a shame.
And today's hearing is but an attempt to blame Republicans
for the horrendous acts of violence. And at the same time, many
of my colleagues ignore many of the words and deeds from
members of their own party that have fueled hate and violence,
statements on anti-Semitism. We have major Democratic leaders
who, quote, ``tell them, members of the Trump administration,
that they're not welcome anymore anywhere.'' These types of
comments should not be allowed either.
Look, the rise of hate crimes deeply concerns me. It
concerns all of us. There is no question about this. It's a
tragedy that we need to deal with. The reality is we're all
human beings. We're all created equal in the sight of God, and
we need to honor that.
I have here an article, and some of you may have heard this
type of comment, and it's just shocking to hear this type of
thing. But the comments of saying, You're all trash. I hate
you, and I wish you harm.
Some of you probably have heard that, those type of
comments. But this comment was not made to the LGBTQ community.
This came out last week, comments directed to a group of
Christians. It's unacceptable.
Mr. Chairman, I'd like to submit this article for the
record, if I could, please, sir.
Mr. Lynch. Without objection.
Mr. Hice. Thank you.
And I--just down the street last week, some individuals
were not allowed to enter a restaurant because of who they
were. Again, this was not the LGB community. Once again, this
was a group of Christians--refused to be served in a restaurant
because they were a group of Christians. It's unacceptable.
Again, I'd like to have the article submitted to the
record, please, sir.
Mr. Lynch. Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Hice. Thank you.
You want to talk about hate between May and October of this
year. Over 100--just within those few short months, over 100
pro-life organizations and churches were vandalized, attacked,
smashed, 38 of them churches across the country--fire-bombed,
smashed, vandalized, pro-abortion graffiti and threatening
messages left.
This type of stuff has got to stop on both sides.
Again, I'd like to submit this to the record, if I could,
Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Lynch. Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Hice. We have a Department of Justice who has come out
admitting that they are--have raised investigations against
pro-life individuals and pro-life organizations simply because
they don't like it.
Again, I'd like to have it submitted to the record.
Mr. Lynch. Without objection.
Mr. Hice. You know, and--and, by the way, dozens of those
churches that were vandalized and fire-bombed and so forth were
by the organization, Jane's Revenge, who admitted that they did
so. To this day, not a single arrest.
So, we've got to deal with these type of issues across the
board. And, you know, I urge my Democratic colleagues to join
us not only with what's happening here, but the hate that's
coming against churches, against pro-life organizations, the
Supreme Court Justices, for crying out loud, supporters of
President Trump. All of this needs to be dealt with. It is
systematic and highlights a moral and spiritual problem in this
country, and we need to admit that this is not a one-sided
issue. It's on both sides of the aisle.
And, with that, I thank you for indulging me.
And, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Lynch. The gentleman yields back.
The chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan, Ms.
Tlaib, for five minutes.
Ms. Tlaib. Thank you so much, Chairman.
And I do want to recognize Chairwoman Maloney. She could
have had a hearing on anything, and being that her last hearing
as the chair, and she made this a priority, and I want to
commend her on that. I appreciate it so much.
I want to start with many--start with the truth, because I
think--I don't know if it was Mr. Haynes or Mr. Slaugh that
said this, but it's about starting to live our truths. So, I
want to start with my truth as a Congress Member here.
One of the things I've realized many of my colleagues
ignore is that nearly 20 percent of all hate crimes are now
motivated by LGBTQ+ bigotry in our country. You know, we
continue to see report after report. The one report that, you
know, even hearing in my own community is of teachers being
allies, being targeted, even--not only at school board
meetings, but just publicly through social media. Displays of
different kinds of solidarity targeted, just because they want
to make sure that every single child that they're educating is
seen and heard and that they feel safe.
Students and residents who continue to speak up in my
community about, you know, the attempt to so-called make it
about books and all of those things that's happening right in
our backyard in my district, it is incredibly important to
realize what has happened, the dehumanization that happens
after those hearings.
Please know that many of my LGBTQ+ neighbors who testified
literally are targeted on social media, hate expressed through
videos, through Twitter, and so much other outlets. And it's so
hard, because I watched as, one by one, they testified and how
they were literally just shouted at, tried to be silenced.
So, when I hear the story of what happened at Pulse, it's
horrific, just God awful to watch a friend, a colleague die
solely based because of who they are.
And, you know, Mr. Wolf, I want to thank you so much,
because it takes so much bravery to come here, because I know
what's going to happen when you leave. And that's the part that
doesn't get discussed.
When you leave, you're going to get literally thrown, of
course, some love and support from many folks that see your
bravery as inspiring and are grateful for you. But I know what
also comes your way when you come and speak the truth here.
One of the things that I think Mr. Haynes and Mr. Slaugh
and Mr. Anderson--I think one of them said--I think it was Mr.
Anderson--living your truth. But I think Mr. Haynes or Slaugh
said, ``What are we doing to make LGBTQ community unsafe in
this Chamber?'' And it's something that I wish we did more of
here.
But, Mr. Wolf, your experience--awful, awful, traumatic
experience at Pulse, you know, what does it really truly mean
for the LGBT+ community in our country and the allies, because
that--that is something that I want to talk about even more,
because it's not only our LGBTQ+ neighbors, but it's--it's the
folks that are standing, deciding silence is not an option, to
wrap our arms around our LGBTQ+ community, that are now
continuing to be targeted?
Mr. Wolf. Thank you so much, and thanks for recognizing how
hard it is to do this day in and day out.
A moment like Pulse changes a community forever, and it
doesn't just change the people who were there. It doesn't just
change the people who had to bury their children years too
soon. It doesn't just change the community that was targeted.
It changes the entire community. Central Florida is not the
same as it was on June 11, 2016. Our entire city of Orlando has
changed, in part, because we were forced to make a choice.
You see, terrorism is designed to terrorize people. That's
the point. It's supposed to scare us back into the closet, to
challenge us to stop living authentically. And so, our city,
our region, faced a choice in the hours after the shooting. And
that choice was whether or not we were going to succumb to
terrorism and hate, whether we were going to allow one man
armed with an assault weapon and hundreds of rounds of
ammunition to shatter us, or if we were going to stand more
closely together.
I was most inspired in the wake of Pulse by watching people
from both sides of the political aisle come together to say
that we can be better, that we can do more for LGBTQ people in
our--in our community. I was inspired by faith leaders standing
alongside LGBTQ elected officials and saying, ``We may not
always agree, but we can agree on the fact that people are
deserving of dignity and respect.''
Communities face a choice in that moment. I'm proud of my
community for deciding that we would be a different, more
inclusive, safer, better community moving forward. And I also
think that offers a blueprint for how this country moves
forward in the wake of such violence and hate.
Ms. Tlaib. I just want all my LGBTQ+ neighbors in my
district and throughout the country just to know, because of
you, I believe our communities are better and more beautiful.
Thank you again for your courageous testimony, for many of
you, and just know that you will always have an ally in the
U.S. Congress.
Mr. Lynch. The gentlelady yields back.
The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr.
Grothman, for five minutes.
Mr. Grothman. Well, I'd like to--I wish she was here. I
want to say an--you know, say wonderful things about her, and
she ducked out.
I'm glad we're having a hearing here dealing with crime. My
district is adjacent to the city of Milwaukee, which in the
last three years, has more than doubled the number of murders.
I don't know what the definition of ``hate'' means, but I want
to say normally, if you're killing somebody, you probably hate
them. I suppose there are just some people who shoot into a
crowd or whatever.
And I've always felt there were three things causing
Milwaukee, which used to be the safest of the 25 biggest cities
in this country, become such a dangerous city. And I think,
one, if we look at the type of people committing the crimes,
the breakdown of the family. And of course, we have people here
who have stood with Black Lives Matter who initially was
opposed to that.
Second, we have the police hatred. I think that's even more
than the police defunding, but this police hatred, where police
have to be so careful about what they do. And, as the result,
they become passive policemen. I mean, that's one of the
reasons why, not just in Milwaukee, but around the world--
around the country, we've seen an increase in the number of
murders.
I guess a distant third would--may be open borders. I
noticed last month by itself, we had--we broke the previous
record for the number of what they call got-aways at the
southern border, going from 59,000 to 73,000. And obviously we
have people who won't even turn themselves in to the Border
Patrol and go through asking for asylum. You know, you're
collecting people who are potentially dangerous.
And as the result, we've gone--and I assume some of the--
this year, I think we've had 212 murders. I assume some were
gay. I don't know.
But I'm going to ask Mr. Lehman: Am I right in each one of
those three reasons for the huge increase in murders in this
country, and is there anything you think we can do to deal with
these three problems?
Mr. Lehman. Yes. You know, I think--I think, locally, to
the two-year increase in homicide, the second thing that you
mentioned, the increase in passivity among police officers--you
can call it what you want. You can call it criticism of police.
Can you call it a blue strike.
The reality is, across a variety of measures, police are
less active than they used to be. Lawmakers have been very
forceful in restricting police activity--bans on chokeholds,
bans on police chases. I won't get into the merits of those
policies. You know, I think the--the breakdown of the family is
a long-standing problem.
Mr. Grothman. Could you elaborate on that? I mean, I never
think we talk about it enough here. What are you talking about?
Mr. Lehman. On the breakdown of the family is a long-
standing problem?
Mr. Grothman. Yes.
Mr. Lehman. Yes. Forty percent of American children born
to--40 percent of American children today live in a--were born
out of wedlock. Many children will be--go through a divorce--
not really asking how many. Of course, their parents' lifetime,
marriage grows rarer and rarer. Fewer children have access to
the stability of a loving, two-parent household, regardless of
the sex of the parents.
The--that almost certainly contributes to----
Mr. Grothman. Can you give us some statistics on that?
Mr. Lehman. On which fact? On which number?
Mr. Grothman. I mean, there are wonderful parents, and
there are wonderful people, including in this room, who have
come all sorts--out of all sorts of backgrounds. But when I
look at Milwaukee of, say, 1970 and Milwaukee of 2022, the
change in the family situation, when I look at the----
Mr. Lehman. I--I don't know the risk ratios, the exact
numbers off the top of my head. I can tell you that risks for
criminality are higher. Risks for all sorts of antisocial
outcomes are higher. Risks for individual--for harms to the
individual are higher, risks for suicidality, risks for
depression, all associated with particularly family breakdown.
I think it's accurate.
And again, I think it's a long-standing problem. Clearly--
clearly, we've had a crime decline--a crime decline in spite of
the decline of the family, but it is a contributor.
Mr. Grothman. Yes, but, when I look at this guy in Colorado
Springs, I mean, he sure had a very difficult background, and
obviously a horrible person, but if we're looking at the root
causes of stuff.
How would you--given we've had this huge skyrocketing
increase, how would you deal with that? Can you give us some
ideas how society can get that 210 murders in Milwaukee back
down to 40 or 50, which is still way too high?
Mr. Lehman. Sure. Look, we--we know what the tools--we know
the tools that work. It's not that hard. Tool one needs
incapacitation. The kinds of offenses that increased in 2020
concentrated among serious repeat violent offenders, people who
commit homicides, people who engage in cycles or attributive
violence, put them in prison. Incapacitation is really
efficient.
Pointing to the second--and I've alluded to this several
times--we have far fewer police officers per capita than we did
before the Great Recession. We have something like 50-to 80,000
more police officers to get back up to capacity. I think that
should be a top priority at all levels of government.
Mr. Grothman. It always bothers me when--I mean, you're
here. You're our guest. I love it. It always bothers me when
you--when we talk about crime and people in your position just
take the easy path to more cops. We should talk about more of
some of the root causes, too, in the future, but thanks.
Mr. Lynch. The gentleman yields back.
The chair now recognizes himself for five minutes for
questions.
I have the honor of representing the city of Boston along
with Congresswoman Pressley. And, last month, Boston Children
Hospital--Children's Hospital, the most renowned pediatric
hospital in the country, received its fifth bomb threat in the
last four months.
Since August of this year, the hospital has been subjected
to an onslaught of online hate and harassment, including
vitriolic emails and death threats against clinicians and other
staff at Boston Children's Hospital. And many of these attacks
have been driven by anti-LGBTQ+ social media accounts that have
spewed hate and misinformation surrounding transgender care.
And as detailed by HRC, the Human Rights Campaign, in its
report online, harassment last month--harassment report
released last month, the coordinated campaign against Boston
Children's Hospital is not isolated.
Following its review of multiple social media platforms,
HRC identified 24 different hospitals and providers across 21
states that have recently been subjected to direct online
attacks following misleading, inflammatory, and harassing posts
by anti-LGBTQ+ accounts.
Ms. Robinson, can you please expand on the nature of these
coordinated hate campaigns against hospitals and other medical
providers and their relationship to actual threats--physical
threats against those individuals and institutions?
Ms. Robinson. This is a devastating reality that we're
living in right now, where the people that we go to to offer
support to our kids are being uniquely and targetly attacked.
And I'm talking specifically about teachers in most cases, and
also providers as we're talking about here.
And yes, our reports show that 24 different hospitals and
providers across 22 states were directly attacked online
following harassing, inflammatory, and misleading posts. I
think the thing to really note here is that there is a direct
connection. Hateful speech, extremist rhetoric is connected to
real-life violence. We're seeing it play out time and time
again, and we have to interrupt the cycle.
Mr. Lynch. And again, at Boston's Children's Hospital,
these online attacks and real-world threats have continued to
take a devastating toll on hospital staff, not to mention the
impact it has on LGBTQ individuals and their families, their
moms and dads.
You know, there has already been extreme stress and
pandemic-related pressures on these hospital staff. They've
also--this trend has also affected patient care and safety.
Ms. Robinson, am I correct in stating that many hospitals
and providers have been forced to remove online resources and
websites in the wake of these attacks?
Ms. Robinson. Yes, you are correct.
Mr. Lynch. HRC includes numerous examples in their report
of the hateful social media posts that were involved in these
harassment campaigns. As underscored in the report, all of the
tweets and Facebook posts cited had remained live as of the
date of writing, so they had not been removed, quote, ``despite
all of them being in violation of Twitter and Meta's policies
on abusive behavior, and targeted harassment, and hateful
conduct.''
So, Ms. Robinson, what additional steps do you think social
media companies can take to address this online harassment, and
hopefully reduce the threat of, you know, real-world violence
against LGBTQ persons, and also, these institutions that are
trying to deliver healthcare to those individuals?
Ms. Robinson. You know, it is urgent and imperative that
every social media company hold themselves accountable to their
own community guidelines of behavior. People are being allowed
to express views that are directly dangerous to our community,
talking about moving forward brutal attacks, criminalizing our
people, trying to make us seem like we are less than human.
This is a real threat. So, our first call is on social
media companies to enact their own policies. But we also have
to hold the bad actors accountable. In places like Florida,
where we saw a 400 percent increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech
and rhetoric, it is all fueled by 10 people. Ten actors were
doing the majority of that. We have to hold one another
accountable.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you.
My time has expired.
The chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr.
Keller, for five minutes.
Mr. Keller. Thank you, Chairman.
And I would like to thank the witnesses for being here
today. I just want to make the point that any crime against any
individual is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.
America's a nation of law and order. And, as I mentioned,
any form of violence and lawlessness in this country is not
acceptable. And those who perpetrate it must be held
responsible under the full weight of the law.
I'm often reminded, President Reagan, who I thought was a
great leader, said something, and I think we need to--we need
to make sure we understand this. We must reject the idea that,
every time a law is broken, society's guilty rather than the
law breaker. It is time to restore the American precept that
each individual is accountable for his actions.
And we need to make sure we hold people accountable when
they break the law.
And it's undeniable that crime in major cities across the
country is rising. According to the Major City Chiefs--Cities
Chiefs Association, homicides and aggravated assaults are up 50
percent and 36 percent respectively compared to 2019.
This is an alarming trend that demands this committee's
full attention. So, we need to focus on that rather than trying
to divide crime and talk about one--whoever a crime is
committed against, we need to defend those people. We need to
stand up for them, and we need to let them know that we love
them, that we're not going to tolerate them being treated
poorly.
But we should not be blaming one another. We should be
blaming the people that commit these crimes. And we should not
politicize any specific acts of evil, and we need to be looking
at this holistically as an American crime crisis.
And actually, Mr. Lehman, I was--heard your testimony, and
you had mentioned that some of the crimes that were committed--
that were discussed were committed by people that had committed
crimes previously. Is that--is that--did I understand that
correctly in your testimony?
Mr. Lehman. Yes. And, just to--just to draw out those
figures, which are available in my testimony, among individuals
who commit--who were arrested for hate crime in New York state,
2019 to 2021, 52 percent had a prior conviction; 30 percent--32
percent had a prior felony conviction; 36 percent had an open
case, a pending case; 20 percent were rearrested within six
months of release.
So--so a large--a significant proportion of hate crime
offenders, similar to the non-hate crime offending population
have prior criminal histories and have a tendency toward
criminal behavior.
Mr. Keller. OK. So, it's not just a matter--I guess my
question would be: It's not just a matter of making sure that
our law enforcement is sufficient and has the tools they need
to keep our communities safe, but then I look at some of the
district attorneys, and I'll look at Philadelphia in my home
state of Pennsylvania. And we have a district attorney,
Krasner, who does not prosecute some of these crimes.
What impact does that have when you have--when you have
police officers enforcing the law and arresting the people that
are perpetrating crime against citizens, and then the district
attorney does not prosecute them, or they're not--they don't
have sufficient bail? What does that do to----
Mr. Lehman. Well----
Mr. Keller [continuing]. Security in America?
Mr. Lehman [continuing]. I'll talk specifically about hate
crime. And, you know, there is frequently an overlap between
hate crime and petty crime. In many jurisdictions, if I spray
paint a swastika, I can be arrested for a hate crime and
charged with it.
And a prosecutor who is committed to not charging
misdemeanor or petty felony offenses might dismiss that
offense, and I suspect that downstream of that behavior--a
downstream of that behavior is more serious, aggravated
offending. So that is to mean indicative of one of the failures
of--you know, one of the risks associated with failing to
charge petty crime.
There is a lot of variation in what progressive prosecutors
do. Some of the progressive prosecutors in New York City have
worked really hard to make prosecuting hate crimes a majority
priority, and I applaud them for that. But I think, in general,
people who commit small crimes often go on to commit large
crimes, and you want to stop them while they're small.
Mr. Keller. Yes. I think, if you take care of the little
things, the bigger things go away. And, if people know they are
going to be held accountable for what they do, and they're
responsible for their actions, we won't see people doing things
that harm other individuals. And that's--I think we need to be
united in that message, and we need to stop making excuses.
I mean, I heard about, you know, the family and everything
else. My parents were divorced when I was 12 years old. I went
to live with my grandmother, OK? We never used being poor. We
never used our family situation as an excuse, because we live
in America. And in America, it doesn't matter who you are or
where you live or who you love, it matters that you can attain
great things.
But what we need to do is go back to that quote from
President Reagan that I mentioned, and we need to restore that
American precept that people are accountable for their own
actions. And we need to give law enforcement the tools they
need, and then we need to hold people that break the law
accountable, because I don't want to see anybody get hurt in
America. And, if somebody is hurt, the person that did it needs
to be held accountable, so it doesn't happen again.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. Lynch. The gentleman yields back.
The chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from
Massachusetts, Ms. Pressley, for five minutes.
OK. We'll try to pick her--pick up that later.
The chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois, Ms.
Kelly, for five minutes.
Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
And I, too, wanted to thank Chairwoman Maloney for all of
her work on this committee and wish her the best in her next
chapter. And I also wanted to thank Ranking Member Hice for all
the work that he's done and as he moves on to his next chapter.
You know, it's interesting being here today when,
yesterday, we were celebrating because of the legislation that
was passed. And now we are here today talking about a topic
that's so very sad, and we're also talking about it on the day
that 20-something people were killed in Newtown, you know, so--
around the issue of guns.
And I do agree with my colleague from Wisconsin. When we
talk about crime, we need to get to the root causes. You know,
we can--and I'm a big gun violence prevention person, and I'm
for the legislation, but we can talk about the legislation, but
unless we do something around prevention and investing in all
kinds of communities and all kind of people, and especially all
kind of young people, we're going to find ourselves in the same
place.
So, I want to also thank all the witnesses.
The LGBTQI+ people across this country have historically
experienced health and economic inequities, largely rooted in
wrongful discrimination against them in medical settings and
employment. For example, men who have sex with men continue to
face discrimination in healthcare settings because of stigma
against HIV that has persisted for four decades. This stigma is
damaging and humiliating.
According to a 2021 study from the Kaiser Family
Foundation, LGBT people are more likely to report negative
experiences with healthcare providers, including being blamed
for their own illnesses and negative health outcomes.
An analysis from the Center for American Progress shows
that almost 10 percent of the LGBTQ people report being turned
away from healthcare facilities because of provider discomfort.
Dr. Meyer, can you explain how discrimination against
LGBTQI+ people in healthcare settings leads to long-term
negative health outcomes?
Mr. Meyer. Thank you. Yes.
As I presented in my written testimony, there has been
research on the effect of prejudice and discrimination on LGBT
people. It has been done for decades, recognized by both
administrations, Health and Human Services, by the Academy of
Sciences. So, this is not just me representing my research.
And what we have seen also, before I get to the effect of
those types of attitudes, that violence, disrespect, bullying
for youth is a very common experience for LGBT people.
If I may, there has been an equivalency made here in this
hearing between attacks on the LGBTQ people and, of course,
horrible attacks on Christians or other people who are attacked
violently. But they're not equivalent. Not to say that one is
better or worse than the other. But, when you're attacking a
group of people, in a sense, that is embedding and
reverberating hatred and stigma that has been going on for
decades and are part, as you said just now, of the American
system, you are creating a damage that is above and beyond just
the attack that the person experiences, and it brings back
attacks that they had experienced throughout their whole lives.
Being Christian is not a stigmatized position in American
society. It is very valued, and it's a good thing. But to be
attacked for being Christian has a different nature, again, not
that I am supporting any attack or any discrimination.
And what we have seen, that these types of attacks, this
kind of discrimination, these kinds of bullying, they all have
impact on LGBT people in--especially in mental health,
depression, anxiety, and the very high rates of suicide
ideation and suicide attempts that we see, both in older
generations and in younger people who are LGBT.
Ms. Kelly. Not to cut you off. My time is running out. And
also, it's even worse for people of color.
Mr. Meyer. Of course, as I mentioned in my testimony.
Ms. Kelly. My time is running out. I just wanted to say to
Mr. Wolf, it is so wonderful to see you again. And I just
appreciate your advocacy so much. You came and spoke to a group
for me in Chicago. And I have a niece that belongs to the
community, and I'm just so glad that there's advocates out
there. And I'm a big ally, as Rashida Tlaib said also, and will
always be here when you need me.
Thank you.
Mr. Wolf. Thank you. I appreciate that.
Chairwoman Maloney. [Presiding.] The gentlewoman from New
Mexico, Ms. Herrell, is recognized for five minutes.
Ms. Herrell. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you for
serving, and I wish you the best of luck. And this is, of
course, our last meeting together, and I just thank you for
your leadership. And I also thank you for hosting this hearing.
And my deepest condolences, obviously, to the first panel
that was here in regard to the recent shooting in Florida. The
targeted attacks remind us, unfortunately, of a cruel reality,
is that we live in a nation that now faces threats from evil
people. And this is unfathomable. It happens all the time.
And while I appreciate what Dr. Meyer just said, I
disagree, because I think any attack on any group of people,
regardless if it's a religious group--because I would point out
that there have been over 280 murders against our law
enforcement family. And how does that differ from, for
instance, a religious group or an LGBTQ group? I just think any
kind of evil attack on any group of people should be stopped in
this country. There is no room for it.
And, sadly, it's happening both sides of the aisle. I mean,
I've heard, and we all have over the last hour or so that it's
right wing, right wing. You know what? It's left wing, too.
It's an ability for people in power to not stand up for what is
right, for our moral values, and for what the people of this
country expect us to do.
And I'll cite an example, because it comes from both sides.
After the shooting in Colorado, Speaker Pelosi, and I quote:
``Right-wing extremists target transgender Americans' most
fundamental rights and freedoms. Whether spouting dangerous
rhetoric from cable news desks or openly bullying
schoolchildren from the halls of power, MAGA Republicans are
cruelly undermining the safety and well-being of our
transgender community.'' End of quote.
That's not based on science. That's based on pushing the
American people further apart and making everything more
divisive. Because everyone on this side of the aisle who spoke
today has truly said they hate to see this crime against any,
any group of people in this country. And when we offered
condolences to those who have suffered through the tragedy, we
were faced with searing criticism.
The violent rhetoric translating into violent actions, it's
not merely a concept, it is a real reality. And, sadly, you
know what? We could fill this entire committee hearing for the
rest of the year into 118, the new committee, we could have
hearings against violence against judges, clubs, abortion
clinics, hospitals, schools, grocery stores, business owners,
malls, law enforcement, because we've allowed the media and
social media platforms to drive the narrative instead of having
real conversations right here in these committee rooms where we
can come together and find solutions that protect all
Americans.
Every single American deserves to live in a country where
they can live in a society that affords them every level of
security. We cannot accept the violence as an approach to
solving problems that we face each and every day or demonize
each other as an excuse not to engage with those that we
disagree with.
And I urge my colleagues, let's stop shifting the blame and
instead work together to build an America that truly lives up
to its promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
for everybody.
And I want to just followup on a question that came up. Ms.
Pocock brought something up and I want to ask Mr. Lehman. She
said we need to notice who the real perpetrators are or
predators are, and hold them accountable.
Are we holding these predators accountable when crimes of
hate are committed against any group of people?
Mr. Lehman. Abstractly, yes. Not in every case. There's a
wide variety of things that count as hate crimes. I certainly
think that you could devote more time, resources, energy,
competency toward the swift and effective prosecution of hate
crimes.
Ms. Herrell. OK. And, again, I think this hearing is
important. But I think at the end of the day what we have to
do, let's everybody identify as Americans first. Then we can
figure out the way to solve these problems. But if we don't
come together in a transparent manner and work to protect
everybody, including law enforcement, the men and women that
stand in a thin blue line, and those that are willing to stand
up for our values, then we're in more trouble than I thought.
And with that, Mrs. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairwoman Maloney. The lady yields back.
The gentlelady from the District of Columbia, Ms. Norton,
is recognized.
Ms. Norton. Thank you, Madam Chair, for this important
hearing.
Let me note at the beginning that the rights of LGBTQ
District of Columbia residents are particularly at risk with
House Republicans in the majority. Republicans have
consistently tried to overturn D.C. local laws protecting this
community, the LGBTQI community, including trying to overturn
D.C.'s marriage equality law, blocking D.C.'s domestic partner
law, and allowing religiously affiliated schools in D.C. to
discriminate against LGBT students.
Statehood, of course, is the only way to ensure D.C.'s laws
are not undemocratically overturned.
So, I'm proud that since Democrats took the House four
years ago, we have advanced critical legislation to protect and
expand the rights of the LGBT community to live their own
authentic lives. That's why, Ms. Robinson, the House passed the
Equality Act last year to codify protections for the LGBT
community against discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity. I was original cosponsor of
the Equality Act.
So, my question for you, Ms. Robinson, is how would the
Equality Act enshrine protections for this community, for
LGBTQI+ individuals across the country?
Ms. Robinson. Right now, LGBTQ+ people are living with a
patchwork of protections across the country. There are 29
states that do not have nondiscrimination against our community
laws in place.
And so, yes, we identify as full Americans, but America is
not giving us all of the rights that we deserve.
Passing that law in D.C. was critical, and as a resident,
it was meaningful for me and for my family. It's essential that
we pass these types of laws all across the country and put the
Federal Equality Act into place.
Ms. Norton. Thank you, Ms. Robinson.
Mr. Wolf, what does the Equality Act mean for the LGBTQI+
community and communities across the country?
Mr. Wolf. Thank you for the question.
You know, as Kelley said, it's important because we are not
afforded the same nondiscrimination protections that other
groups are. I say this as a person in the state of Florida.
One of the things that we've worked on--I work for Equality
Florida, the state's LGBTQ civil rights organization--one of
the things we've been working on for years is implementing
comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in
our state.
So, what does that mean? It means protecting LGBTQ people
from being denied housing, for instance, because we have a
boyfriend not a girlfriend. It means protecting LGBTQ people
from being fired from their jobs because they have a picture of
their spouse on the desk.
And so, the Equality Act would, in ways that Florida has
refused to do and other states have refused to do, would apply
those nondiscrimination protections across the country.
And I'll expand just a little bit to say that that goes
beyond the LGBTQ community, that there are other marginalized
communities that are further protected under the Equality Act.
And it goes beyond just housing, public accommodations, and
work force, it goes into credit and other things like that,
essentially saying that LGBTQ people, like every other
American, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and we
deserve to be protected from discrimination.
Ms. Norton. Thank you, Mr. Wolf.
Ms. Pocock, in June this committee favorably reported the
LGBTQ+ Data Inclusion Act to the full House, which passed
historic legislation in commemoration of Pride Month. I was an
original cosponsor of that bill.
This bill would expand the collection of voluntary, self-
disclosed information regarding sexual orientation. It would
help to ensure policymakers can make better--can better
understand the specific challenges that this community faces.
So, Ms. Pocock, what kinds of specific challenges do the
LGBTQI+ people who you serve in your community face in the
areas of healthcare, housing, and education?
Ms. Pocock. Thank you for asking that question.
You know, we see double, sometimes triple the rate of
suicide risk, school truancy, lack of care. I had one 13-year-
old show up at our center who was living on the streets because
it was safer than home. About a third of our young people
experience homelessness.
So, it's so important to track data so that, one, we know
how well we're doing for these young people; and two, so we can
prevent the things that they're facing.
Ms. Norton. Thank you.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady's time has expired.
Mr. Cloud is now recognized.
Mr. Cloud.
Mr. Cloud. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And thank you, Ms. Pocock, for staying online. I know
you're not in the room. We haven't forgotten you're there.
Appreciate you being here.
I was curious to get your thoughts just really on, in the
context of this conversation we're having today, what the role
of the traditional nuclear family is in society today, what
your take is on that.
Ms. Pocock. Thank you for having me. I recently had a
surgery and so I'm not able to fly, so just I really appreciate
the opportunity to testify virtually.
So, you know, what I can tell you is that research shows
that young people who are connected with trusted adults,
whether it be parents--in fact, just one trusted adult reduces
the risk of suicide by five times.
So, the reality is family structure is important and those
of us in this community know that we have family structures in
which our children are very taken care of, have great health
outcomes, similar to others who might be in different
structured households.
But the truth is, anyone can be a trusted adult and impact
the outcomes for young people. And so that's why we're
constantly educated--educating the community, be the trusted
adult for the young person.
No matter where you are, you could be a teacher, you could
be a neighbor, if that young person trusts you, they can come
to you with a difficult problem they're facing and that will
reduce their risks.
Mr. Cloud. Do you believe that parents have a right to be
involved in these sorts of discussions with their children in
school?
Ms. Pocock. So, we have I think about a hundred parents who
participate in our programs to support their young people. And
so, at Inside Out, we believe that if parents want to show up
as a partner in the success of their young people, they're
going to have healthier outcomes.
So, for example, young people who----
Mr. Cloud. But do parents have a right to know, is my
question.
Ms. Pocock. Do parents have a right to know what? I don't
understand what you're asking.
Mr. Cloud. What their child is dealing with. For example,
if there's a child or a teenager in school who's questioning
their identity or those sorts of things, do parents have a
right to know and be involved in that discussion?
Ms. Pocock. Well, I'd say it depends. Again, we have young
people who show up at our space who are leaving unsafe, abusive
homes. And in that case, we have to do everything we can to
make sure that young person is safe and protected.
We have--we are constantly filing reports of abuse and
neglect because of--parents do not [inaudible] young people who
they are.
Mr. Cloud. I understand the cases of--it sounds like you're
deflecting the question a little bit. I understand cases of
abuse, there's laws to protect the abused. I mean, schools
actually are legally obligated to report cases of abuse, same
for churches and the like, anyone who deals with young people.
But do parents have a right? Should they be informed about
what's going on? Do they have a right to know what's going on
in their kids' lives?
Ms. Pocock. So, I think, again, those of us who are
protecting and supporting young people are there and trusted
with the information of the things that they are dealing with.
In terms of parents' rights to know at schools, I mean,
here in Colorado parents don't have the right. If a young
person is questioning their gender or their sexuality, there
are laws in place that say that they have the right to process
that with their trusted counselor and so forth.
Mr. Cloud. So, you do a significant amount of your work
with kids even starting at age 13?
Ms. Pocock. Yes.
Mr. Cloud. What would be the age of consent then in your
mind?
Ms. Pocock. In our community, the age of consent to mental
health therapy is 12 years old.
So, we have laws that enable young people to connect with
trusted adults who can support them. That is just so important.
It prevents suicide.
And so, we serve young people at 13 because we know they
come to us and we can prevent negative health outcomes for
them.
Mr. Cloud. OK. Lately, we've seen a lot of people in the
news coming out detransitioning. Could you speak to that
phenomenon? What's that person going through? Did they get it
wrong? Were they going through a period? Is it just a fluid
thing? I mean, could you speak to that?
Ms. Pocock. Well, you know, I can't really speak to an
individual's personal experience. I mean, somebody's gender is
just a really personal experience.
But I can speak to you--I've been in this work for a long
time. I know a lot of trans folks, close friends, family
members.
Mr. Cloud. The concern is----
Ms. Pocock. And I just never heard a case of anyone
detransitioning. So, I honestly don't think it's a real----
Mr. Cloud. There's a number of cases in the news right now
where this is happening. And the concern parents have is we've
all had awkward teen years where we've questioned things and
existence and a lot of things.
And the question is, is kids who are maybe making a
permanent decision, even without the input of their parents,
and making irreversible decisions. There's some who've talked
about they can't have kids anymore and they wish they could and
the like.
And so, I'm curious how we would work to protect kids. I
wish we had more time.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Cloud. Because I think this is an important issue to
get into.
But thank you for being here.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
The gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Raskin, is recognized for
five minutes.
Mr. Raskin. Madam Chair, thank you. And I want to start
just by saluting you for your extraordinary and energetic
leadership of this committee and your historic leadership as
the first woman ever to be the chair of the Oversight and
Reform Committee.
And we will continue on all of your major priorities with
respect to the Census, the post office, fairness in the
immigration process, and of course the Equal Rights Amendment,
which we know is so close to your heart.
So, thank you for everything you've done for us.
I want to thank the witnesses for coming and testifying
about anti-LGBTQ violence and incitement. And I offer my
condolences for the losses all of you suffered at the Club Q
shooting last month. We're keeping you all close to our hearts.
When you look at the hostile treatment of minorities in
America or in any country on Earth, you find a spectrum of
negative actions that can begin just with vilification,
demonization, stereotyping. Then it can become statutory
discrimination and stigmatization against a minority. And then
it can culminate in violence.
And we've seen the most horrific episodes of that kind of
violence and some of them are taking place in different parts
of the world today.
In recent years, certain state legislators have sought to
turn government into an instrument of hostility to and
demonization of LGBTQ people. More than 340 pieces of anti-
LGBTQ bills were introduced in legislatures across America this
year, triple the number that were introduced four years ago.
Forty-eight state bills that aim to limit or ban discussion of
the existence of gay people have been considered in 21 states.
Mr. Wolf, as an LGBTQ civil rights advocate in Florida,
could you speak to us about how Florida's Don't Say Gay law
affects you? And what is the effect of these types of bills
that seek to promote censorship or invisibility of entire
communities?
Mr. Wolf. Yes. Thank you for the question.
And I want to start by acknowledging that Republicans in
Florida promised us that the bill was narrow in scope, that it
was only focused on preventing young children from being
sexualized or learning about sexual topics. And although we
told them that the language of the bill was nothing like that
and that it had far broader reach than they were saying, they
assured us that there would be nothing to worry about.
And so, as a result, what have we seen? Well, we've seen
books being banned with LGBTQ characters across the state.
We've seen teachers being told to hide their family photos in
their desks. We've seen school districts like Miami-Dade County
refusing to recognize LGBTQ History Month, for instance, saying
that it might violate the Don't Say Gay or Trans law.
Those are just some of the impacts, and they're weighing
most heavily on LGBTQ families who fought really hard to see
their loved ones recognized and respected. It's weighing on
teachers who are fleeing the profession. We have over 9,000
teacher vacancies in Florida, in part because they've been
undergoing character assassination over the last couple of
years.
And, finally, it's weighing most heavily on LGBTQ young
people. The Trevor Project tells us that almost two-thirds of
trans young people are experiencing poorer mental health
outcomes because of policies like House Bill 1557 in Florida.
So, in short, the debate over the humanity of LGBTQ people
is making life harder and less safe for people, especially in
the state of Florida.
Mr. Raskin. Well, thank you for that comprehensive and
alarming answer.
Ms. Pocock, how do you think that banning references to
LGBTQ people in the classroom and school curriculum affects
LGBTQ youth?
Ms. Pocock. Well, again, this is a situation where we know
that when you build an inclusive classroom, you have young
folks who are more engaged, more likely to show up at school.
And so, again, the best thing that we can do is prevent
negative outcomes by creating an inclusive classroom, an
inclusive church, an inclusive home. That is hands down,
research shows, the very best thing we can do for young people.
Mr. Raskin. Ms. Hunt, how do extreme laws like Alabama's
law affect the health and safety of LGBTQ youth? This is the
one that--well, we've discussed it. But how does it affect the
mental and emotional health of the kids in the classroom?
Ms. Hunt. Sure. When children are told that they're not
part of society, that they don't have a role and a place in any
part of their lives, whether it is being represented in the
classroom, whether it's participating in school activities,
whether it's receiving healthcare, whether it is just being
part of their communities as a whole, it teaches them that they
don't belong, that they are lesser than, and that they are not
as worthy as their classmates and as their peers.
And that's not the message that we should ever be teaching
to young children anywhere in this country.
Mr. Raskin. Thank you very much.
And I yield back, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman's time has expired, and
thank you.
We will now hear from the gentleman from Florida, Mr.
Donalds.
You are now recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Donalds. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And Madam Chair, it has actually been a pleasure to serve
with you. I know we have had disagreements in this committee,
but I think what the American people probably don't know is
that we've also had very cordial conversations, whether it's in
the committee room itself or in the Chamber, the House Chamber,
or in the hallways. And so, with whatever the next steps are in
your life, good luck, God bless, and I know that this place
will miss you.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you very much. And I'm pleased we
were able to honor all of your requests for hearings.
Mr. Donalds. I appreciate that as well. Thank you so much,
Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
Mr. Donalds. I seem to be slotted in this hearing and it's
kind of an appropriate time. Obviously, Florida has been a
topic of conversation. Since I am a current congressional
Member from Florida, I also served four years in Florida's
Legislature, I figure I'm somewhat an expert on Florida law and
practices when it comes to the Oversight Committee.
A couple things. One, my first legislative session I was
the author of one of those bills that actually allow for
community input with respect to material being in the
classrooms, books that are being purchased by school districts.
House Bill 989, I am the author of that legislation, which was
signed by then Governor Rick Scott.
That legislation allowed for parents and taxpayers in the
county to be able to bring objections to the local school board
for books that were purchased in the classroom for students to
view.
Now, I understand at the time the critics, Equality Florida
and others, said that it was going to allow for banning of
material. But the truth is, the merits of the bill, the actual
process of the bill, because I was there when the rulemaking
was done, is that there is a systematic approach for every
district to take in public comment about material that is going
to be purchased by the school district, and then the school
district is the one that goes through the purchasing decisions
of said material.
So, I guess my question for the panel is, do you think it
is appropriate for the taxpayers in a county and the parents in
a county to actually be at the table when materials are being
purchased by the school district using taxpayer money?
Mr. Wolf, I'll start with you. We can go down the list.
Mr. Wolf. Sure. Equality Florida's stance and my stance has
always been that community involvement in education makes
education better for young people. And it's important that the
entire community is engaged when we're talking about what books
we want on shelves, what things we want to be learning in the
classroom.
The unfortunate part is that that's not happening in the
state of Florida. I'll give you an example. Palm Beach County
Schools, as a result of the passage of HB 1557, went around the
community review process and universally banned by decree of
the superintendent a whole host of books that had LGBTQ
characters in them, that were written by Black authors. And the
reason given was that it might be in violation of HB 1557----
Mr. Donalds. Real quick point on that. Real quick point on
that.
So does the superintendent have the authority, since they
are hired by the school district and the school district is the
body that spends taxpayer money, is responsible for dispensing
education, is it the responsibility of a superintendent to
actually examine material that should be in the front of
children?
Doesn't the superintendent have the responsibility to
examine material and make the determination whether it is
suitable for a child, let's say, who's eight years old or 10
years old?
Mr. Wolf. I would argue that you just contradicted
yourself, that it's either----
Mr. Donalds. I did not contradict myself, Mr. Wolf. I'm
saying that the superintendent also has that ability.
Mr. Wolf. It can't be either the superintendent does it by
decree or the community gets input.
Mr. Donalds. I would argue----
Mr. Wolf. If you believe that the community----
Mr. Donalds. I would argue that superintendents do a lot of
things by decree, not just in Florida but across the country.
But 989, the bill that I sponsored, was for material is
purchased before it comes into the school district.
Now, once the material is in the school district, yes, the
superintendent and his or her assigned can go through and
systematically decide what material is allowed in the classroom
or not.
OK. This is the one thing I don't like about congressional
hearings, because they give us five minutes and there's so much
we could've gotten into. It's one of the reasons I'm sponsoring
changes to House rules. But that's another story for another
day.
I do want to come quick to the essence of the hearing. The
violence that has been exhibited against people from the LGBTQ
community is horrendous, and it is obscene, and it should not
be tolerated.
We were actually in a somewhat similar hearing yesterday on
a somewhat similar topic. And when it comes to violence, my
thought processes do not change. We cannot tolerate any of
that.
At the same time, the thing that we also have to be
cognizant of is how we label the perpetrator of said violence,
because the narrative in our politics is that violence against
Black people or violence against LGBTQ people are somehow
coming from White-wing extremists. That is dialog that has
happened in this hearing today.
But, Mr. Wolf, I remember when Pulse shooting happened. I
was in the legislature at the time. I remember. It was horrific
then. The shooter in question is somebody who actually assigned
themselves and subscribed themselves to ISIS and to ISIS
theoretical, theological leanings, not a right winger, not a
left winger, somebody that has views that are abhorrent here in
the United States.
So, I think if we're going to discuss these things, we have
to make sure--I know I'm over my time, Madam Chair. I
apologize.
But I think that what we have to make sure is that we stand
up against hate and violence, but we do not at the same time
cast aspersions on our fellow Americans until we actually
understand the motives of the individual assailants and then
deal with it properly.
With that, I yield back.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
The gentleman from Texas, Mr. Fallon, is now recognized.
Mr. Fallon. Thank you, Madam Chair.
You know, I want to just speak from the heart and be rather
just authentic. And listen, I was listening to the testimony
earlier and what--we always fear--as a child you'd fear the
bogeyman and the six-arm lady in the closet and all these
illogical fears that we have. But unfortunately, there are
folks that are in the wrong place at the wrong time with evil
that lurks.
Mr. Wolf, you were one of those folks being there. It's
horrific, as my colleague said, and my heart goes out to you.
What I want to avoid, though, is to place blame on people
that have a different political philosophy, because the vast
majority, and I'm talking 99.999 and you just keep going of
Americans, don't want to harm anyone and don't harm anyone.
And so, to place blame on an ideology--because I think you
said earlier right-wing extremism. I caught that. And I'm
sorry, because we were running different hearings.
Do you fear, Mr. Wolf, left-wing extremism?
Mr. Wolf. I would say that based on the Department of
Homeland Security's recent report that said domestic terror
threats are focused right now on communities like mine, that
has driven fear around how the rhetoric people use about LGBTQ
people may result in violence.
Mr. Fallon. So, you don't--so do you--so you don't fear
left-wing extremism?
Mr. Wolf. Do you have an example of a left-wing extremist
engaging in anti-LGBTQ violence?
Mr. Cloud. Do you know who James T. Hodgkinson is?
Mr. Wolf. I don't.
Mr. Cloud. OK. Do you know of any historical incidents
where there were multiple Members of Congress murdered or
assassinated, are you aware of any, in the country's 250-year
history?
Mr. Wolf. Yes, yes. Yes.
Mr. Fallon. I'm not aware of any multiple incidents like
that. I don't think it has happened, fortunately, in history
because we'd go down a very dark tunnel if that did occur.
But it almost did occur. A few years back, James T.
Hodgkinson shot Steve Scalise, who's now the majority leader,
or will soon be the majority leader in the next Congress, and
almost killed him. And was asked, do you know James T.
Hodgkinson's political affiliation? He was a Bernie Sanders
acolyte. He was a big fan of Bernie Sanders.
None of us blamed Bernie Sanders for that shooting, because
he didn't do it. Now, there's rhetoric on that side that could
encourage very unstable people, but unstable people are
dangerous inherently.
And the thing is, if Steve Scalise wasn't there, because he
had a detail because he was, I believe, the minority whip at
the time, I wasn't here, he had a security detail that ended up
eliminating that threat and killing that man.
Had he not been there, you're probably looking at 15 to 20
Republican Members of Congress that would've been murdered. He
even asked--because they were at a baseball practice in the
morning--he even asked, ``Are you Republicans?'' And when they
said yes, that's when the rifle came out and that's when the
gun came out.
The only person responsible for that shooting was that man.
No one else. And I've tried to be very careful about that.
Because would you agree that this is something that a Member of
Congress should say talking about folks that we disagree with?
There were several quotes--sorry. It's what happens when you go
on to multiple committee hearings here.
Would you agree with this? If a Republican said we've got
to stay on the street and we've got to get more active and
we've got to get more confrontational, we've got to make sure
that they know we mean business. You find that incendiary at
all?
Mr. Wolf. If we're talking about peacefully protesting
injustice----
Mr. Fallon. Confrontational, getting in their face. There
needs to be unrest in the streets. You think that could be
incendiary at all?
Mr. Wolf. I don't know the context of what you're talking
about.
Ms. Fallon. All right. Well, that was Ayanna Pressley and
Maxine Waters, Democratic Members of Congress, said that. And I
don't want people to get into somebody's face and get
confrontational. They can certainly disagree. We can disagree
civilly.
But the Pulse Nightclub shooting, was that perpetrated by a
right-wing extremist?
Mr. Wolf. The Pulse Nightclub shooting was perpetrated by a
man who pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Mr. Fallon. So, the answer to that question would be no.
Mr. Wolf. I don't know what his----
Mr. Cloud. Because I don't think there's many ISIS members
that are terrorists and also GOP voters, in fact. I would
venture to guess that that doesn't exist on the planet.
Mr. Wolf. To clarify, I didn't say GOP voters.
Mr. Fallon. OK. You said right-wing extremists. So, we
would classify the evil individual that murdered 49 and wounded
53 and probably gives you nightmares and will for the rest of
your life was not a right-wing extremist.
Mr. Wolf. Is that a question?
Mr. Fallon. Yes.
Mr. Wolf. I would say this hearing is about the structural
and systemic issues that are escalating anti-LGBTQ violence
across the country.
Mr. Fallon. Well, we got to be careful about our language
because we don't want to point fingers at anybody other than
the people that actually perpetuate this evil and this criminal
violence.
We have a method of redress in this country. We're very
free to do so. And that's why I've always condemned all
political violence, because there's no need for it, because we
do have the right to protest.
And I am very sorry about what you and those other victims
went through. It's horrific and I'm praying for you. God bless.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Fallon. I yield back.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlewoman from Missouri, Ms.
Bush, is now recognized for five minutes.
Ms. Bush.
Ms. Bush. Yes. St. Louis and I thank you, Madam Chair, for
convening this important hearing.
And let me say to the witnesses, thank you for your
testimony, thank you for staying. And sorry you have to listen
to the White supremacy raise its ugly head throughout this
hearing, but we're here to fight it. And so just want to make
sure you know that.
The rise of hate and violence----
Mr. Comer. That, Madam Chair--I mean, my God.
Ms. Bush [continuing]. Against the LGBTQIA community
follows a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation driven by Republican
state lawmakers, including in my home state of Missouri.
The Human Rights Campaign has found that Republican state
legislators have introduced and supported over 340 anti-queer
and/or--trans bills in the latest legislative session, and 25
extreme discriminatory bills have already been signed into law
across this country.
According to PROMO Missouri, in 2020 the Missouri State
House introduced 23 pieces of anti-LGBT+ legislation. They've
repeatedly--it's absolutely disgusting--filed library book
bans, bans on doctor-recommended care, student organization
bans, and sports bans.
Ms. Robinson, could you tell us more about the draconian
measures state Republicans have advanced that target the
health, the safety, and the rights of our LGBT+ community?
Ms. Robinson. It's a crisis that we're experiencing. We are
trying to simply be able to live freely, safely, and wholly as
our true selves in every aspect of life and what we see is
continued legislative attacks paired with extremist rhetoric.
And when some of these bills are moving forward, whether or not
they're enacted, it has a devastating impact on our community.
Looking at Florida, again, as a Don't Say Gay or Trans bill
was moving in the state legislature, we saw it paired with an
intentional social media campaign that resulted in a 400
percent increase in anti-LGBTQ+ hate and slurs happening
online--and the majority of it was perpetrated by 10 bad
actors.
This is the stuff that we have to make sure that we're
interrupting and ending. This is what's creating a dangerous
environment for our children, for our kids, and for our
families.
Ms. Bush. Thank you.
Hate drives these Republican bills, which, in turn, drive
dangerous hate and violence toward our LGBTQ+ community. In
Missouri, my state, we have seen multiple hate-driven murders
of our trans siblings in recent years.
As part of Missouri's Republicans' obsessive attack on
trans and gay rights, they introduced legislation that would
have criminalized parents and health services for providing
care approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other
leading organizations. They even sought to turn bills into
ballot initiatives to drum up further hate and have run for
office on platforms grounded in anti-LGBTQ+ hate.
Dr. Meyer, what is the connection between the Republican
crusade to target the LGBTQ+ community and the surge of hateful
anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric online?
Mr. Meyer. Thank you.
Yes, I think that this rhetoric fuels, as I said before,
what is already underlying American culture and history, and to
fan these hateful messages just encourages bad actors.
And I agree with what was said here. There are bad actors.
But we also have to pay attention to the environment in which
we live and the kind of environment either inhibits or
encourages hateful acts.
So, thank you.
Ms. Bush. Thank you.
Ms. Hunt, let me turn to you. How is America's transgender
community disproportionately harmed by the extremism and the
violence the committee is examining today, particularly
speaking about Black and Brown transgender women?
Ms. Hunt. One thing that we see repeatedly in the studies
that we've done on the trans population is that trans people
are about, on average, three to four times as likely to
experience almost any negative outcome that you can expect in
our society, be that unemployment, direct violence, negative
experiences with the police, homelessness, discrimination in
healthcare.
Anything along those lines tends to hit trans people about
three to five times as high as the national--pardon me--three
to five times as much as the national average.
And what we see consistently through all of these numbers
is that trans people of color, particularly Black trans women
and indigenous trans women, experience three to four times as
high negative results--or negative outcomes--on all of those
actors.
Ms. Bush. Thank you.
The rise of anti-queer and/or--trans extremism is a danger
to our country, our nation, and we must act swiftly and
urgently to eliminate it.
Thank you. And I yield back.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady's time has expired.
The gentleman, the ranking member, from Kentucky----
Ms. Herrell. Madam Chair?
Chairwoman Maloney.--Is now recognized, Mr. Comer, for five
minutes.
Ms. Herrell. Madam Chair?
Mr. Comer. Thank you, Madam Chair.
You know, I'm not even going to comment on what Ms. Bush
said. But I'll say this. Crime's going to be a top priority for
the Republicans on this committee in the next Congress. And
perhaps Ms. Bush could come give us some pointers on how she's
reduced crime in St. Louis since she's been in Congress and
what her ideas are to further reduce crime in St. Louis.
But wait a minute. St. Louis has one of the highest crime
rates in America.
So maybe she can come tell us how to secure the border and
give her expertise on crime moving forward, because that's what
the issue is in America. We have a crime rate that's out of
control and we have to do better in America.
Mr. Lehman, your testimony makes the case that hate crime
offenders are not specialists. These criminals often have prior
criminal offenses. Can you explain how our current justice
system is set up to handle bias-based crimes?
Mr. Lehman. Can you just clarify what specific component
you're asking about? How bias-based crimes work or how we're
responding to them currently?
Mr. Comer. Both.
Mr. Lehman. So, the law on bias-based crime or hate crime
varies across jurisdiction, varies across state. You'll
observe, for example, there's a marked increase in offenses
against transgender people reported to the FBI since 2012. A
lot of that is just because, prior to that, hate crime laws in
the United States did not incorporate transgender people, and
they still don't in some states.
In most cases of bias-motivated defense is hate crimes are
enhancements to other offenses. They're charging enhancements
for another offense. So, if I shoot somebody, I would get one
sentence. And if I shoot them in a way that is motivated by--
provably motivated by my beliefs about them or their membership
in a protected class, there can be a higher sentence associated
with that.
Does that answer the question?
Mr. Comer. So let me ask you this question.
Mr. Lehman. Please.
Mr. Comer. The Club Q shooter had been previously arrested
for making violent threats against their mother, which ended in
a standoff with the law enforcement. That's pretty serious. The
case was dismissed due to the family's refusal to cooperate.
You stated in your testimony that had prosecutors succeeded
in eliciting the cooperation, five people might be alive today.
How essential is it that prosecutors remain strong-armed on
crime and see these cases through?
Mr. Lehman. Absolutely. Prosecuting hate crime is
challenging. That component that I referred to earlier, proving
that somebody has a bias motivation is hard. It's actually
gotten easier in the age of social media because people write
down their thoughts so much more, but it's still very
challenging. Best practices are not widely understood.
So, I think it's important, particularly in hate crime
cases, that prosecutors dedicate substantial resources to
clearing the case. There are often abysmal clearance rates on
hate crime.
For example, in New York City, I think the Bronx district
attorney's office cleared, I think, 15 percent of hate crimes
referred to it. It's a real challenge. They need to put more
effort into it.
Mr. Comer. Right. Well, and this is obviously something,
Madam Chair, I appreciate the hearing, because crime is out of
control against everyone, the LGBTQ community, the Jewish
community, we've seen crime increases at historically Black
colleges and universities, Christian groups.
So, we need to do better and this should be a topic of
priority for the next Congress. Certainly, we need to look at
the prosecutors because we have--especially in the Speaker's
home city of San Francisco, the prosecutor was just recalled. I
don't think anyone's going to classify San Francisco as a
bastion of conservative voters.
He was recalled for not prosecuting. And I think that
people in America want prosecutors to do their job and hold
criminals accountable and keep them off the street.
So, that's going to be a priority. We certainly want to
focus on securing the southern border. We believe that's a
problem, especially when you look at the fentanyl and drug
overdoses in America. We certainly want to fund our law
enforcement.
Obviously, there are always going to be bad actors in law
enforcement as in every other profession. They need to be held
accountable. But we have to take crime seriously because that
is the top issue, one of the top issues among the voters,
especially in the last midterm election.
So, Madam Chair, I look forward to working with this
committee addressing the issue of crime in the next Congress.
And I yield back.
Chairwoman Maloney. OK.
The gentlelady from Massachusetts, Ms. Pressley, is now
recognized for five minutes.
Ms. Pressley. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Earlier today we heard from survivors of the Club Q
nightclub shooting in Colorado Springs and the Pulse Nightclub
shooting in Florida. I certainly look forward to a day where
people do not have to relive their trauma in order to compel
action, but I am grateful for the survivors who spoke today.
Thank you for turning the deep pain and trauma that you've
experienced into purpose. Hearing these accounts today was
heartbreaking, and we know that your lives have been changed
forever.
In response to this tragedy, the fact that you have come
here displaying great dignity and poise in the midst of it all
certainly makes this institution better, and we thank you.
Now, in stark contrast, we have Republicans in state
legislatures across this country who continue to introduce and
pass legislation undermining the rights of LGBTQ people,
despite clear evidence that these tactics cause violence and
loss of life.
Certainly, here in Congress, we don't need to be reminded
that hate speech leads to hateful violence. January 6 was
certainly evidence of that.
Now, in my congressional district, healthcare providers
have experienced threats and attacks that have disrupted their
provision of medical care to the LGBTQ community, who are
already disproportionately facing barriers in accessing
healthcare.
Dr. Meyer, how do LGBTQ+ individuals disproportionately
experience health inequities?
Mr. Meyer. Thank you.
I think the challenge for LGBTQ people in seeking
healthcare is that providers are not qualified enough or not
knowledgeable enough. And this is particularly true for
transgender individuals across the country who report that when
they go to see a provider, often they're the ones who have to
teach the provider about transgender care and give them
resources to help them help the patient.
I think that the other side of it is that LGBTQ people also
experience greater mental and physical health problems
resulting from prejudice and discrimination and, therefore,
need those services even more so.
Ms. Pressley. Thank you, Dr. Meyer.
And what we have seen is a policy violence in nearly half
of the states in our country, which have introduced 43 bills
this year alone that only would deepen those inequities,
particularly for transgender people, by restricting access to
gender-affirming care, including four states that have enacted
total or partial bans. And Republicans in the House have
introduced similar bills to block access to this necessary and
appropriate medical care nationally.
Ms. Hunt, why is gender-affirming care so vital for
transgender people?
Ms. Hunt. Thank you for shedding light on that.
So, one of the things that we see most often in trans
people's lives is very high experience of negative mental
health outcomes. People will have extremely high levels of
severe depression, suicidal ideation. There are lot of numbers
that have floated around in social media spaces for years,
sourced backed to some of the surveys that we did 10, 7, and 14
years ago, specifically, on these subjects.
And one of the things that we found in subsequent studies
done by several organizations, including the Trevor Project, is
that just providing access to transition-related medical care
reduces the significant negative mental health outcomes for
transgender youth by nearly two-thirds.
When we have a treatment that is just that effective in
improving people's lives, it is fundamental that we need to
make sure that everybody who needs that care is able to access
it. This is something that improves and is necessary for trans
people to fully participate in society.
Thank you.
Ms. Pressley. Thank you. Absolutely. Transgender
individuals deserve to receive essential lifesaving gender-
affirming healthcare and our medical personnel should be able
to provide it without fear of being attacked.
Last month I joined colleagues in sending a letter to the
Department of Justice regarding the violent anti-trans threats
that have been made against providers of gender-affirming care
and the ways that online platforms are fueling this violence.
I just want to close with Mr. Wolf.
I believe it is really important to center survivors in our
discussion here. So let me close with you. How have these
threats impacted you and your fellow survivors personally?
Mr. Wolf. Yes. Thank you.
Well, first of all, it breaks my heart because it has
resulted in further violence. It's really hard to have gone
through something like Pulse and have a desire to make the
world a better place and to ensure that no community ever goes
through it again, and then to turn around and see it recur, not
just in Colorado Springs, but really around the country.
So, I can say that it's been a very challenging time for
people in Orlando. It's a challenging time for survivors of
violence against LGBTQ people.
And I also am grateful for this committee. I'm grateful for
this hearing that we're shining a light on what I think is an
urgent crisis in the country.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady's time has expired.
The gentlewoman from California, Ms. Porter, is now
recognized for five minutes.
Ms. Porter. Thank you very much.
I want to start by acknowledging with gratitude everything
that Chair Maloney has done for Oversight, including,
importantly, lifting up voices of Americans whose needs, whose
concerns, whose lives, whose rights are sometimes not
recognized. And she has been long a champion for doing that for
women, but seeing her do that for Americans across the country
and across demographics has really meant a lot to me
personally.
So, I just want to take a few seconds to say thank you very
much, Chair Maloney. You will be greatly, greatly missed. And I
will continue to admire and be inspired by you as I work on
Oversight in the coming years.
I wanted to start with Ms. Robinson, if I could.
Your organization recently released a report analyzing the
500 most viewed, most influential tweets that identified LGBTQ
people as so-called groomers.
The groomer narrative is an age-old lie to position LGBTQ+
people as a threat to kids, and what it does is deny them
access to public spaces, it stokes fear, and can even stoke
violence.
Ms. Robinson, according to its own hateful content policy,
does Twitter allow posts calling LGBTQ people groomers?
Ms. Robinson. No. I mean, Twitter, along with Facebook and
many others, have community guidelines. It's about holding
users accountable to those guidelines and acknowledging that
when we use phrases and words like ``groomers'' and
``pedophiles'' to describe people, individuals in our
communities that are mothers, that are fathers, that are
teachers, that are doctors, it is dangerous.
And it's got one purpose: It is to dehumanize us and make
us feel like we are not a part of this American society, and it
has real-life consequences. So, we are calling on social media
companies to uphold their community standards.
And we're also calling on any American that's seeing this
play out to hold ourselves and our community members
accountable. We wouldn't accept this in our families, we
wouldn't accept this in our schools, there's no reason to
accept it online.
Ms. Porter. So, I mean, I think you're absolutely right.
And it's not--this allegation of groomer and pedophile, it is
alleging that a person is criminal somehow and engaged in
criminal acts merely because of their identity, their sexual
orientation, their gender identity.
So, this is clearly prohibited under Twitter's content, yet
you found hundreds of these posts on the platform. Your team
filed complaints about these posts, correct?
Ms. Robinson. Yes.
Ms. Porter. And how often did Twitter act to take down
these posts which violated its own content policy?
Ms. Robinson. Very rarely.
Ms. Porter. So, from our calculation, it looks like about
99 percent of your complaints, they basically acted on one or
two of the hundred-plus complaints you filed. Instead of taking
them down, Twitter elevated them, allowing them to reach an
approximate 72 million users.
This is not just about what happens online. What happens
online translates into real harms in people's lives.
Ms. Pocock, you provide services to a community that
experienced a devastating LGBTQ attack. Can you provide some
examples of the link between speech online and attacks against
providers like you?
Ms. Pocock. We know really online threats mean, in addition
to just creating an atmosphere of bullying for young people, it
also creates an atmosphere of delegitimizing our real
professional trained work at Inside Out Youth Services. And
it's just so critically important that we can continue doing
the work that we do.
But I want to tell just one quick story because it's
beautiful.
We have an online community center, and it is moderated by
peer advisers, and when asked how many issues of, like,
fighting or contention do you deal with on the Discord server,
and our young people tell us, well, it doesn't happen very
often.
So, I'm here to tell you that our young people have figured
out how to moderate platforms in positive, productive ways.
Twitter, Facebook, everybody else can figure it out, too.
Ms. Porter. Absolutely.
Ms. Robinson, your report notes that these radicalizing
posts, these groomer posts, these other posts that attack LGBTQ
communities are related to acts in the real world. What happens
online is often reflective of what happens in the real world.
After Governor DeSantis, Governor DeSantis of Florida,
passed his so-called Don't Say Gay bill, what trends did you
observe online with regard to grooming-related discourse?
Ms. Robinson. Unfortunately, we saw a 400 percent increase
on Twitter, this sort of hateful language, particularly calling
our community members ``groomers'' and ``pedophiles.'' And we
know that whether or not the bills move into effect, the
lasting impact of that online bullying of defining our
communities in that way, it sticks, especially with our kids.
Ms. Porter. Well, I just want to--my time has expired--but
I just want to say I'm proud to say gay, I'm proud to stand
with the gay community, and I'm proud that you all are here
today as part of our country and giving us testimony.
I yield back, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Maloney. The lady yields back.
The gentleman from Rhode Island, Mr. Cicilline, who is the
founder of the Equality Caucus, which he chairs.
Mr. Cicilline.
Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Chairwoman Maloney. I want to
also thank you for holding this important hearing and for being
such a strong champion for the LGBTQ+ community throughout your
entire public life.
I want to begin by reminding everyone here, especially my
colleagues across the aisle, what this hearing is about. It's
entitled, ``The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism and Violence in
the United States.'' And despite this hearing title--colleagues
on both sides of the aisle have obviously condemned the attack
at Club Q and violence more broadly at today's hearing--it's
also telling that the Republicans on this committee, with one
exception, have not asked any questions about anti-LGBTQI+
extremism and violence. Instead, they've only wanted to talk
about crime broadly or hate crimes against other communities.
I'm disappointed, yet not surprised, that a few weeks after
a killer murdered five people at an LGBTQI+ nightclub, the
Republicans on this committee could not bring themselves to
discuss anti-LGBTQI+ violence and its causes with our
witnesses.
Our community is scared, terrified that we'll be attacked
going to the doctor, scared that we'll be attacked going to
nightclubs, scared that we'll be attacked simply for living as
our authentic selves. And, unfortunately, this fear is well
grounded.
The attack at Club Q is only the latest high-profile
example of violence against our community. In 2021, 20 percent
of all reported hate crimes were motivated by hate based on
sexual orientation or gender identity.
Let me repeat that.
Despite the fact that LGBTQ+ people make up roughly seven
percent of the population, 20 percent, or more than one in five
reported hate crimes last year were motivated by sexual
orientation or gender identity bias.
My colleagues want to talk about anything but this anti-
LGBTQI violence and their rhetoric that is contributing to it.
This violence is impacting both LGBTQI+ people and our
families.
I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record statements
from the Equality Caucus Transgender Equality Task Force co-
chairs Representatives Jayapal, Wexton, and Newman about the
fear that they and their families are experiencing in the wake
of anti-trans rhetoric and violence.
Chairwoman Maloney. Without objection.
Mr. Cicilline. No one should have to fear violence because
of who they are or who their family members are, but this
violence is not happening in a vacuum. Politicians at all
levels of government are targeting our communities, spreading
misinformation, and looking to restrict our rights.
Republicans are happy to discuss our community when they're
attacking our rights, when they're crying on the House floor
because they oppose marriage equality, or when they're
releasing statements attacking our community in press releases
that they introduce new bills targeting our community.
But when it comes to actually discussing the violence
against our community and its causes, just a quick condemnation
of what happened at Club Q and violence broadly and nothing
more.
In my view this is shameful.
And so, I want to begin, Ms. Robinson, again, to thank all
of the witnesses for being here today. Ms. Robinson, as we near
the end of this hearing, is there anything that we've not
covered yet relating to anti-LGBTQ+ extremism and violence that
you would like to share for the record?
Ms. Robinson. We can do something about this. We can ensure
that social media companies uphold their community standards.
We can pass the Equality Act to ensure that LGBTQ+ people
actually don't have legalized discrimination happening to them
in more than half of the states.
We can, as a community, step up and say that we
wholeheartedly, no matter what our party affiliation is,
repudiate and rebuke these horrendous attacks on our people.
There is work to be done. And especially on this 10-year
mark of Sandy Hook, we can do something to end this epidemic of
gun violence. We have to and we must.
Mr. Cicilline. Thank you.
And, Mr. Wolf, thank you so much for being here and for
sharing your story.
What message do you have to politicians who are championing
bills to limit the rights of the LGBTQI+ community?
Mr. Wolf. Thank you. I'm grateful to be here.
And my message is simple. Words have consequences. Somebody
has to pay the price for unmitigated, unbridled hatred, the
kind of hatred we have seen on the rise across this country.
We've heard a lot about accountability in this hearing, and I'm
glad we're talking about accountability.
No one is asking for anyone but the shooter at Club Q to be
on trial in Colorado Springs. But what we are saying is that
people should be accountable for the things that come out of
their mouths. And, when you're willing to traffic in cheap
shots and bigotry against a marginalized community that's
already seeing hate against it on the rise, that's already
seeing violence rising across the country, when you're willing
to traffic in those things to score political points, you have
to be accountable for what happens next. You have to hold
yourself accountable for the impacts of your words.
Words really do have consequences. Unfortunately,
communities like mine have felt them. We have to do better than
we are today.
Mr. Cicilline. Thank you.
And I want to thank you, Madam Chair, for allowing me to
waive onto the committee for this hearing, and I think, to Mr.
Wolf's point, we not only have to condemn these statements and
this rhetoric, but we sadly have Members of the Congress of the
United States that are engaging in the use of some of this very
inflammatory rhetoric against the LGBTQI community----
Chairwoman Maloney. Yes. The gentleman's time----
Mr. Cicilline [continuing]. And it needs to stop now.
Chairwoman Maloney.--Has expired.
Mr. Cicilline. I yield back.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman's time has expired.
The gentleman from New York, Mr. Mondaire Jones, is now
recognized.
Mr. Jones. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I join the course of
my colleagues in celebrating your tremendous service in this
body over the past several decades and your just stalwart
championing our community, the LGBTQI+ community. So, thank you
for that.
As I said on the floor of the House during debate on the
Equality Act, to grow up poor, Black, and gay is to not see
yourself anywhere. It is also to feel completely unseen as so
many people around you invalidate your very existence.
Growing up, like many people in this room, I suspect, I
watched as mostly--as straight politicians, many of them White,
many of them men, used my basic human rights as a political
football to further their careers. And now, as the first openly
Black gay Member in this body, I'm even more familiar with the
vile, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that terrorizes our community and
that somehow is even more harmful when it's aimed at queer
people of color.
Let me also just say, to amplify what Representative Porter
had discussed previously, that I and people on my team have
also reported many of these Twitter accounts that have hurled
explicitly homophobic insults at me in particular, and have
received emails stating that they are not somehow in violation
of Twitter's purported standards, and so clearly there is
something amiss at Twitter, but I think many of us have known
that now for the past few months given the leadership changes.
Many of us are scared for our lives, and rightfully so.
LGBTQ Americans know that gay bars and clubs are sanctuaries
for our community to gather without fear of being judged simply
for being who they are. For many, these spaces become second
homes where we can experience the full freedom to be ourselves.
Such was the case for me. In my first year of law school,
when I was still closeted, the gay bars of New York City were
the only place I could be my authentic self, and those spaces
helped me to come out and to be the man--the Congressman that I
am today.
I cannot imagine my journey to self-acceptance and
understanding without these sanctuaries, which are now under
assault.
The horrific mass shootings at Pulse Nightclub and Club Q
create fear among LGBTQ Americans that gay bars and clubs,
these places of refuge for members of our community, are no
longer safe. These attacks alongside other acts of violence
against our community and the growing course of hate and
disinformation against LGBTQ people tell us that over the past
few years, this country has become a more dangerous place for
us to live, unfortunately.
Even those who simply provide services essential to the
mental and physical well-being of members of our community are
under attack. Earlier this month, a doctor affiliated with the
national LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center in Boston faced
credible death threats for their role in providing gender-
affirming care to transgender youth.
The following day, the First Unitarian Universalist Church
in Columbus, Ohio was forced to cancel a family friendly,
holiday-themed drag queen storytelling event after a far-right
extremist from the Proud Boys and the Patriot Front showed up
to protest, armed with AR-15s, dressed in military gear,
chanting far-right slogans, and performing Nazi salutes. When
leaders across the country, including sitting Members of
Congress, are peddling age-old hateful and false narratives
about grooming and pedophilia, these are the types of people
who show up in response.
A recent Human Rights Campaign report found that, as
Florida state government enacted its discriminatory Don't Say
Gay law, anti-LGBTQ misinformation surged by over 400 percent
on social media platforms. And worse, instead of condemning
this deadly wave of misinformation and hate, Members of this
body have added fuel to the fire.
In October of this year, Representative Mike Johnson of
Louisiana introduced his own Don't Say Gay bill to amplify this
hateful policy on a national scale, and dozens of Members of
this body cosponsored that legislation. Shame on them.
If enacted, Mr. Johnson's heinous bill would, among other
things, prohibit federally funded schools from providing sex
education or library books to children under 10 that include
LGBTQ topics. In doing so, his bill would send a message to
LGBTQ children in the most vulnerable stage of their lives that
they are an other, whose very existence society refuses to
recognize.
It is hard, in closing, to listen to the stories of Club Q
and Pulse nightclub survivors and not be in awe of their
bravery and resilience, and so, I thank you for your courage.
I'm furious that our community is forced to live again and
again with this pain, but I am optimistic about the future of
this country with your leadership and with people----
Chairwoman Maloney. OK. Thank you.
Mr. Jones [continuing]. Of good conscience in this body.
Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman's time has expired----
Mr. Jones. I yield back, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Maloney.--and voting--votes have been called.
So, I now recognize the gentleman, Vice Chair Gomez. You
are recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Gomez. Thank you, Madam Chair, for calling this
important hearing. And, as we've known for far too long, words
have consequences, especially when they're coming from our
elected leaders. A rise of anti-LGBTQ violence is unequivocally
linked with the rise of inflammatory, dangerous rhetoric coming
from the far right, especially since the election of former
President Trump.
Make no mistake, those on the far right who are spreading
misinformation and hateful rhetoric are often the same
individuals and groups who helped orchestrate and carry out the
January 6th insurrection. Just like in the aftermath of the
2020 election, extremists are intentionally manufacturing
falsehoods about the LGBTQ community. They're attempting to
stir violence and scare Americans as they push their radical
agenda to roll back the clock on civil rights.
People look to their elected leaders to tell them the
truth. Instead, Republican candidates and politicians pair
misinformation and hate, giving these deadly lies a much larger
platform. When violent extremists believe these lies, it paints
a target on the backs of the LGBTQ communities and leads to
real-world violence.
Now, Republican lawmakers across the country are moving to
make discrimination official government policy. This year
alone, we've seen more than 20 states introduce Don't Say Gay
bills aimed at erasing LGBTQ history and culture from being
taught and denying LGBTQ students the ability to be supported
and affirmed in their education.
But it's not just at the state level. In October, 38 of my
Republican colleagues introduced Federal legislation inspired
by Florida's Don't Say Gay or Trans law, which would restrict
Federal funding for schools that incorporate curriculum that
recognizes and supports LGBTQ students.
Ms. Pocock, what is a Federal Don't Say--why is a Federal
Don't Say Gay or Trans bill so dangerous, particularly for
LGBTQ youth, and how does it risk further undermining the
health and safety of LGBTQ young people?
Ms. Pocock. Thank you.
You know, the difficulty of this--of a bill like a Don't
Say Gay bill is that it erases us. It doesn't amplify to young
people their mentors--teachers, Congressmen, Congresswomen--who
are similar to them, who are doing really incredible work for
our country. It doesn't set the platform up for them to see
themselves in their future. But it also minimizes the
experience of their families. And so, really, again, the best
thing we can do for young people is see them, hear them, and
recognize them.
Mr. Gomez. Thank you.
As somebody who has a sibling who is gay, I grew up back in
a very conservative area of California back in the 1980's,
Riverside, and not seeing individuals who are--had leadership
positions or also just straight-up discriminated against
because they're LGBTQ, gay or lesbian, or nonbinary or trans,
it was something I know had a profound impact on him, but also
on myself. It's something that made me question why things are
the way they are, why are somebody that I care about, somebody
that I love deeply is being punished for who they are?
And schools, oftentimes when you don't get their
affirmation in your school, then you don't want to go to
school. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, my brother
never finished high school, but he ended up going and getting
his GED. He was smarter than I ever was or would be. He ended
up going off to UC-Santa Cruz and getting his degree and became
a teacher, an educator. But it is--those--showing those
examples, I think, does make a difference.
And so, thank you for mentioning that, Doctor, because I
think that's what we need to ensure.
So, this is not the end of this discussion and the end of
this fight, but we're going to keep pushing back on that
rhetoric that I believe is so dangerous for the health of our
young people, but also just for our communities as a whole.
And, with the last remaining time I have, I just want to
congratulate Chairwoman Maloney for her tenure here in
Congress, and then also being a champion for women's rights,
LGBT rights, the disenfranchised, and ensuring that we have a
stronger democracy.
With that, I yield back.
Congratulations, Madam Chairman--Chairwoman.
Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you so much.
And I now recognize myself.
We are experiencing a crisis, and I must say that the
panelists--first, I want to thank all of my colleagues that
participated, but the panel was a particularly articulate and
informed one. You gave us a great deal to think about on a very
difficult subject.
This was put together very quickly by the health team and
the domestic policy team. I particularly want to thank Miles
Lichtman and Daniel Yim for an excellent job putting this
together. We're very grateful, and all of your entire team.
We'll continue working on these important issues.
Today's hearing is one of the final hearings of the 117th
Congress, examining one of the most pressing issues that our
nation will face in the years to come, the rise of extremism
and violence targeting LGBTQI+ people in the United States.
We heard from the brave survivors of violent attacks
against the LGBTQI community, nightclubs in Colorado Springs
and Orlando. And these stories were heartbreaking, because they
should not have to be so brave. Like every person who goes out
to celebrate with their friends and their loved ones, they
deserve to be joyful and free and secure in our country.
While today's hearing examined the challenges our society
faces in ensuring that LGBTQI people can exist free from
violence and bigotry, it also offered a vision for a more
inspiring future, one where LGBTQI people have the freedom to
live authentically and freely and safely.
As our nation continues to grapple with this recent tragedy
at Club Q, I hope that we and Congress can look inward and find
the courage to not only stand against this bigotry, but to also
take bold action to end it.
We can do this by building on the progress of the past
several months, which includes codifying protections for the
same-sex marriages and enacting the first commonsense gun
safety package in decades, a package that followed this
committee's hearing examining the senseless violence that
occurred in Uvalde, Buffalo, and other communities across the
United States.
But, as we remember--as we remember the 20 children and the
six educators who lost their lives at Sandy Hook years ago, we
are reminded that much more needs to be done to stop senseless
bloodshed.
I applaud President Biden for his action yesterday in
signing the important bill on marriage equality.
Now, before I conclude, I would like to enter into the
record a number of statements the committee received ahead of
today's hearings. These were submissions from my colleagues,
Congresswoman Jayapal, Congresswoman Wexton, Congresswoman
Newman; Dr. Meredith McNamara, who provides critically needed
care to younger patients who are transgender in New Haven,
Connecticut; the Whitman-Walker Institute; and more than 40
LGBTQI+ rights advocacy organizations in support of gender-
affirming care: The National Women's Law Center, the National
Education Association, and the United States Professional
Association for Transgender Health.
There was a tremendous outpouring of support and interest
in this hearing. We thank all of you very, very much.
And, with that, I'd like to conclude by saying that our
panelists were remarkable. We thank you for your remarks, and I
commend my colleagues.
And, without objection, all members will have five
legislative days within which to submit extraneous materials
and to submit additional written questions for the witnesses to
the chair, which will be forwarded to the witnesses, and we
hope we'll have your swift response.
I ask our witnesses to please respond as promptly as
possible.
And, with that, this hearing is adjourned, and I am running
to vote.
[Whereupon, at 1:31 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[all]