Representatives, We strongly oppose House Bills 112 and 113, before you on the floor this afternoon. These bills will deeply hurt trans youth in our communities. Trans youth already experience tremendous difficulty and face discrimination, bullying and harassment. It is our responsibility to support and care for young people in our communities, not enact policy that further harms them and their mental health. Medical providers and trans people provided much of the testimony in opposition to these bills in committee, which included actual lived experiences and scientific data about the severely adverse impacts these bills would have on our trans youth. These bills prevent our trans youth from being open about their gender identity.
As you weigh your vote on this, please consider these heartbreaking statistics:
• LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. • Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives; a fourth report having made a suicide attempt. • LGBTQ youth with highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGBTQ peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection. • Each episode of LGBTQ discrimination, such as physical or verbal abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harm by 2 1/2 times.
Sent Jan. 25:
ReplyDeleteRepresentatives,
We strongly oppose House Bills 112 and 113, before you on the floor this afternoon. These bills will deeply hurt trans youth in our communities. Trans youth already experience tremendous difficulty and face discrimination, bullying and harassment. It is our responsibility to support and care for young people in our communities, not enact policy that further harms them and their mental health. Medical providers and trans people provided much of the testimony in opposition to these bills in committee, which included actual lived experiences and scientific data about the severely adverse impacts these bills would have on our trans youth. These bills prevent our trans youth from being open about their gender identity.
As you weigh your vote on this, please consider these heartbreaking statistics:
• LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers.
• Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives; a fourth report having made a suicide attempt.
• LGBTQ youth with highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGBTQ peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection.
• Each episode of LGBTQ discrimination, such as physical or verbal abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harm by 2 1/2 times.
Please oppose HBs 112 and 113.