[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 171 (Thursday, November 19, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 19, 2015

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, November 20th is Transgender 
Remembrance Day. However, every day we must recognize that transgender 
men and women are being unjustly discriminated against, bullied, 
ostracized and even killed because of their sexual identity.
  On this day, we remember those who were senselessly murdered, those 
who are targets because they are different and those who end up 
homeless when family abandon them.
  Transgender men and women wake up each morning being targets of 
bigotry and hate. So far in 2015, about 29 transgender men and women, 
primarily in their early 20s, have been murdered. Many more take their 
own lives because they simply cannot see life getting better or easier.
  Organizations like ``Project Trans at the Center'' in San Diego offer 
a safe environment to be themselves; they offer resources to help with 
life situations. It's up to Congress to offer protection from 
discrimination as a basic human right.
  Imagine a world where you wake up every day with the challenge of 
existing; where it seems the world is against you no matter what you 
do.
  This is their world. Every day. Together we can make a difference and 
work toward ending discrimination.
  Today, let's unify and work together to fix the inequality among 
transgender persons.
  But tomorrow--let us not forget the struggles they face and the 
support they need to live freely in a world that is so full of 
intolerance.

                          ____________________