Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

ENROLLED ORIGINAL

                               A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

                                             25-287

                   IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

                                      November 12, 2024

To recognize the Transgender Day of Remembrance, to celebrate the resilience of transgender

       individuals and communities, and to declare Wednesday, November 20, 2024, as

       Transgender Day of Remembrance in the District of Columbia.

       WHEREAS, the government of the District of Columbia has affirmatively and officially

recognized the right of transgender people to live openly and freely as their authentic selves,

without fear of discrimination or violence;

        WHEREAS, examples of the District’s official commitment to the legal rights of

transgender residents include the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of gender identity or

expression since 2005, and the refusal to facilitate cross-border interference in gender-affirming

health care under the Human Rights Sanctuary Amendment Act of 2022;

        WHEREAS, the District of Columbia nevertheless has a particularly alarming history of

violence against transgender individuals including the murders of A’Nee Roberson, Jasmine

Parker, Zoe Spears, Ashanti Carmon, Deeniquia Dodds, Deoni Jones, Lashai Mclean, Tyli’a Mack,

Elexius Woodland, Bella Evangelista, Emonie Spaulding, Stephanie Thomas, Ukea Davis, and too

many others;

      WHEREAS, bias, violence and systemic oppression against transgender people remain

unacceptably prevalent, including in the District of Columbia;

       WHEREAS, incarceration, homelessness, poverty and addiction disproportionately harm

transgender people, especially transgender women of color, and continue to claim lives;

       WHEREAS, transgender people have the same human rights as all people to be free from

violence and discrimination, and to live their lives with joy, dignity, and hopes for the future,

respected and loved as any other person;

       WHEREAS, transgender people in the District of Columbia have long exhibited resilience

and bravery, including by organizing in response to the 1997 death of Tyra Hunter, a Black

transgender woman whom District employees refused to treat for life-threatening injuries after

determining that she was transgender;

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                                                                  ENROLLED ORIGINAL

        WHEREAS, since the 2023 Transgender Day of Remembrance, transgender people in the

surrounding area have continued to be murdered, including Meghan Lewis and Tai’vion Lathan,

while misgendering by media and police may have obscured additional instances of violence

against transgender people in the region;

        WHEREAS, the people and government of the District will continue to fight for

transgender people’s well-being, even in the face of escalating, cruel, politically motivated

attempts to discriminate against, stigmatize, and criminalize transgender people in state

legislatures and national political campaigns; and

       WHEREAS, the transgender community and allies in the District of Columbia have

commemorated Transgender Day of Remembrance since 2001 and communities and organizations

here and around the world will observe the Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20,

2024.

        RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this

resolution may be cited as the “Transgender Day of Remembrance Recognition Resolution of

2024”.

       Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia declares November 20, 2024, as the

Transgender Day of Remembrance in the District of Columbia.

       Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.

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