[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 22, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E679-E680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRESSIONAL LGBTQ+ EQUALITY CAUCUS IN COMMEMORATION OF PRIDE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 22, 2021

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as our country celebrates Pride Month 
this June, I rise as a Senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee 
to affirm a basic truth: that we are all equal.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  June 22, 2021, on page E679, the following appeared: Congress 
can take to remove them. -------------------- -------------------- 
HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as our 
country celebrates Pride Month this June, I rise as a Senior 
Member of the House Judiciary Committee to affirm a basic truth: 
that we are all equal.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read:Congress can take 
to remove them. -------------------- CONGRESSIONAL LGBTQ+ EQUALITY 
CAUCUS IN COMMEMORATION OF PRIDE MONTH -------------------- HON. 
SHEILA JACKSON LEE OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as our 
country celebrates Pride Month this June, I rise as a Senior 
Member of the House Judiciary Committee to affirm a basic truth: 
that we are all equal.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Rhode Island, Mr. 
Cicilline, and the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus for organizing 
this special order in commemoration of Pride Month.
  This month serves as an opportunity to recommit ourselves to making 
equality in every aspect of American life real for members of the 
LGBTQ+ community.
  It also serves as a reminder of both the shared struggle and 
collective joy found in the history and life experiences of queer and 
gender non-conforming members of our society.
  Our country has come a long way in the fight for justice for all the 
queer and gender non-conforming members of our society.
  The Stonewall Uprisings in Greenwich Village marked a watershed 
moment in the LGBTQ+ movement, reigniting the fight for justice and 
signaling a new chapter of progress in our country's quest to ensure 
that fair treatment is the rule, never the exception.
  The Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges enshrined 
fair treatment as the rule when the court affirmed same-sex couple's 
right to marry the person they love, regardless of where they lived.
  Our country's commitment to justice has been maintained by the 
tireless work of advocates and communities at the forefront of social 
change.
  We know, however, that this work is unfinished.
  As with every social movement, progress is met by resistance, and 
that resistance can only be overcome with unmatched persistence and 
fidelity to a basic truth enshrined in our belief: that all are created 
equal and worthy of human dignity.
  In keeping with this belief, we cannot forget the great champions of 
this cause, many of which I am proud to claim as fellow Texans.
  Sarah Fernandez, Judy Reeves, Tommy Ross, JD Doyle, Dalton DeHeart, 
Judge Jerry Simoneux, Judge Fran Watson--I thank them for their 
unwavering advocacy.
  I also want to recognize a few organizations that continue to do the 
hard and necessary work of keeping our communities safe, making them 
feel seen, and pushing our country towards equality.
  The Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Save Our Sisters United, Montrose 
Grace Place, and the Montrose Center--their work is important and 
valued.
  Lastly, I wish to pay tribute to Monica Roberts and Ray Hill.
  Monica Roberts, whose death leaves a gaping hole in the hearts of the 
LGBTQ+ community in Houston.
  Monica worked as a trailblazing journalist and advocate, never 
failing to center the stories of Black trans people and shining light 
on the issues often ignored by the media.
  Ray Hill co-organized the first gay rights organization in Houston in 
1967, fiercely advocated for those living with HIV and AIDS, and always 
sought to advance the cause of equality, despite the hardships.
  There are more than 46,000 same-sex couples in Texas, and about a 
third of LGBTQ+ Texans are raising children.
  According to an analysis by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School 
of Law, approximately 930,000 Texans identify as lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, transgender or queer.
  If LGBTQ+ Texans were a city unto themselves, they'd be the 5th most 
populous municipality in the state, just behind Austin, and 
significantly larger than El Paso.
  These families and these individuals all benefit from the incredible 
advocacy and sacrifice of the aforementioned organizations and 
individuals.
  From the Ryan White Care Act to the Matthew Sheppard Act passed by 
Congress to the Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges decisions 
announced by the Supreme Court, it is clear that social change cannot 
simply be hoped for--it must be codified, protected, and expanded to 
account for the real discrimination still shouldered by the LGBTQ+ 
community.
  In particular, I want to underscore the importance of 
intersectionality, and recognize that queer people of color face 
disproportionate burdens ranging from violence against transgender 
people to higher rates of youth homelessness and HIV infection.
  On behalf of LGBTQ+ Texans and all Americans, I call upon the Senate 
to follow the House's example and pass H.R. 5, the Equality Act now.
  I call on my colleagues in Congress to move forward with key 
legislative priorities ranging from ending HIV criminalization, passing 
the HIV epidemic plan, and enacting criminal justice reform that puts a 
stop to policies, which above all harm incarcerated transgender people.
  For LGBTQ+ communities to be truly seen--to be valued--in our 
country, they must be accounted for in our policies and actions, not 
simply tokenized in political rhetoric and corporate merchandise.
  It is time to go beyond political rhetoric and make real the promise 
of equality, opportunity, and justice for every American--irrespective 
of who they are and who they love.
  Let us be unequivocal in our support and love for the LGBTQ+ 
community, not just in words, but in actions.

    [From the Texas Tribune, April 20, 2021 Updated: April 21, 2021]

   Texas Lawmakers Advance Bills Blocking Access to Gender-Affirming 
 Health Care Despite Opposition from LGBTQ Texans, Medical Associations

                            (By Megan Munce)

       Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez said Texas has filed 
     more anti-LGBTQ bills this session than any other state 
     legislature.
       Before undergoing gender confirmation surgery at age 17, 
     Indigo Giles had to get approval from a doctor, a therapist 
     and the hospital where the surgery would be performed to 
     ensure there were no options left besides surgery. To even 
     get to that point, Indigo's father Neil said it took time-
     consuming research and several reflections as a family before 
     going forward with the process.
       The surgery's impact was immediate, said Indigo, now 19, 
     who identifies as nonbinary. They were able to wear the 
     clothes they wanted to, and their confidence in school and 
     with friends significantly increased. Most significantly, the 
     surgery helped alleviate their severe depression caused in 
     part by gender dysphoria--discomfort related to feeling a 
     disconnect between one's personal gender identity and the 
     gender assigned to them at birth.
       But under a slate of legislation moving in the Texas Senate 
     and House, Indigo wouldn't have been able to make such a 
     decision until their 18th birthday. In fact, no transgender 
     child in Texas would be able to pursue puberty blockers, 
     hormone treatment or surgery for the purpose of gender 
     confirmation.
       Transgender Texas children, their parents, medical groups 
     and businesses have vocally opposed many of the bills 
     lawmakers are pursuing. Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez 
     said Texas has filed more anti-LGBTQ bills this session than 
     any other state legislature.
       ``It's insulting,'' Indigo said. ``These lawmakers think 
     that we don't know what we

[[Page E680]]

     want with our own bodies and we're not able to say what we 
     want and mean it.''
       House Bill 1399 would prohibit health care providers and 
     physicians from performing gender confirmation surgery or 
     prescribing, administering or supplying puberty blockers or 
     hormone treatment to anyone under the age of 18. The House 
     Public Health Committee advanced the bill Friday.
       Senate Bill 1311 by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, would revoke 
     the medical license of health care providers and physicians 
     who perform such procedures or prescribe such drugs or 
     hormones to people younger than 18. The Senate State Affairs 
     Committee advanced that bill Monday.
       The Senate last week passed Senate Bill 29, which would 
     prevent public school students from participating in sports 
     teams unless their sex assigned at birth aligns with the 
     team's designation. While that bill would only affect 
     students in K-12 schools, two similar bills in the House 
     would include colleges and universities in that mandate.
       SB 29 has been referred to the House Public Education 
     Committee, which is slated to meet Tuesday and hear testimony 
     on identical legislation that was introduced in the lower 
     chamber. On Wednesday night, the chair of that committee told 
     the Houston Chronicle that the companion legislation, House 
     Bill 4042, is likely dead.
       ``That bill is probably not going to make it out of 
     committee,'' state Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, told the 
     Chronicle. ``We just don't have the votes for it . . . But I 
     promised the author that I'd give him a hearing, and we 
     did.''
       Last session, Dade Phelan, the Beaumont Republican who is 
     now House Speaker, demonstrated a lack of appetite for bills 
     restricting rights for LGBTQ Texans.
       ``It's completely unacceptable,'' he said at the time. 
     ``This is 2019.''
       Last week, Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, tried to amend 
     a bill on the House floor that would fund prescription drugs 
     for uninsured Texans so that it would exclude hormone and 
     puberty suppression treatments. That amendment failed after 
     it was noted that existing bills were addressing such 
     treatments.


           Medical associations unite in opposition to bills

       In public testimony this year, transgender Texans and their 
     parents have testified in near unanimous opposition to the 
     bills. Several parents described their experience testifying 
     as ``terrifying,'' worrying their testimony would be used 
     against them should the bills' penalties become law. Under 
     Senate Bill 1646, which the Senate State Affairs Committee 
     passed Tuesday night, they could be labeled child abusers for 
     allowing their children to receive gender affirming 
     treatment.
       That bill comes after Jeff Younger attracted the attention 
     of Gov. Greg Abbott and other top Texas Republicans in 2019 
     after a dispute between him and his ex-wife turned into a 
     court battle over whether he could oppose his child's 
     transition. Younger, among others testifying in support of 
     these bills, emphasized young children's lack of brain 
     development and claimed parents and social media pressure 
     children into identifying as transgender.
       But experts say social media and social pressure have 
     nothing to do with it.
       ``There's literally zero evidence or research to suggest 
     that that's true,'' said Megan Mooney, past president of the 
     Texas Psychological Association.
       According to Mooney, children as young as 2 or 3 can 
     develop ideas about gender identity. By 6 or 7, she said, 
     their sense of gender identity is relatively stable.
       Lisa Stanton, a Houston mother, said her daughter Maya 
     began expressing her gender identity as soon as she could 
     talk. Lisa said Maya would speak about a fairy who would use 
     magic to turn her into a girl.
       Maya had no access to social media, Lisa said, and neither 
     of them even had the language to discuss gender dysphoria or 
     being transgender. What's more, Maya has a twin brother who 
     Lisa said has been raised exactly the same way as his sister, 
     but has never expressed gender dysphoria.
       At 10 years old, Maya hasn't received any medical treatment 
     yet. Lisa said in the future, she may have to use puberty 
     blockers--a medical treatment legislators want to ban, but 
     experts say is completely safe.
       Marjan Linnell, a general pediatrician, testified on behalf 
     of six different state and national medical associations and 
     said in committee that ``organized medicine stands united to 
     strongly oppose both SB 1646 and SB 1311.''
       In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Linnell explained 
     that puberty suppression treatment has been used for decades 
     to prevent children from going through puberty too soon. Once 
     those children reach an appropriate age, their treatment 
     stops and natural puberty occurs. Linnell said the same is 
     true for transgender children, for whom puberty can often 
     exacerbate poor mental health.
       ``The point is to have a reversible treatment that can give 
     them some time,'' she said. ``That not only helps to gain 
     some time to make sure we're making an appropriate and best 
     practice medical decision for these kids and families, but we 
     also know it can be incredibly important for preserving the 
     mental health of our kids that are going through gender 
     affirming care.''


 The mental health toll of gender dysphoria and social marginalization

       Hall, the Edgewood Republican, argued during a committee 
     hearing that gender dysphoria would pass after puberty for 
     many children. He claimed that children feeling like they're 
     in the wrong body is akin to them being ``tomboys'' and 
     ``sensitive kids'' who could later turn into the ``best 
     looking cheerleaders'' and ``toughest football players'' by 
     high school.
       But both Mooney and Linnell said puberty can increase rates 
     of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation for transgender 
     children, and delaying treatment until 18 could worsen the 
     existing disproportionate rate of transgender children who 
     consider suicide.
       Indigo described the process of testifying alone as 
     ``exhausting and upsetting'' after they and other transgender 
     children were faced with legislators and protesters who 
     opposed giving them access to gender confirmation care. The 
     week after Texas considered a bill restricting public 
     bathroom access for transgender Texans in 2017, the Trevor 
     Project reported that the amount of transgender children 
     calling or messaging their national suicide hotline 
     dramatically increased.
       Legislators voiced particular concern over whether these 
     treatments may cause irreversible infertility for young 
     children. Experts that lawmakers specifically invited to 
     testify cited disputed statistics and stirred fears that 
     procedures such as mastectomies could be performed on 
     prepubescent children--a claim Linnell called 
     ``disheartening,'' given that breast tissue does not develop 
     until after puberty.
       While hormone treatments may cause infertility in some 
     cases, Linnell said it varies and is always discussed with 
     patients prior to undergoing treatment. Surgery, she said, 
     would rarely or never be used until after puberty, and 
     requires several consultations with doctors and psychologists 
     before being approved. According to Mooney, surgery is only 
     recommended when a patient is experiencing so much 
     psychological distress that the only way to resolve it is 
     surgery.
       While each bill would only delay treatment until age 18, 
     Mooney said medical treatment is often necessary for 
     transgender children just to make it to their 18th birthday.
       In committee testimony, 17-year-old Charlie Apple said the 
     combination of gender dysphoria and social marginalization 
     made him feel uncomfortable with both his body and his own 
     existence. Receiving gender confirmation surgery and hormone 
     treatment, he said, has helped him start to change that.
       ``I've made friends, I've played in sports. I've had the 
     kind of stupid fun you're supposed to have as a kid, but most 
     importantly, I survived,'' Apple said. ``Without these 
     treatments, I would have most likely been with the majority 
     of trans children not standing here before you, but under a 
     gravestone.''