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Washington, D.C. (Dec. 14, 2022)—Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, held a hearing to
examine how the surge of anti-LGBTQI+ policies advanced in legislatures
across the country and the proliferation of extreme anti-LGBTQI+
rhetoric are fueling violence against LGBTQI+ people in the United
States, including the mass shooting that took place at the LGBTQI+
nightclub, Club Q, in Colorado Springs last month.
“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,” said Chairwoman Maloney
in her opening statement.
“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.”
The Committee heard testimony from Michael Anderson and James Slaugh, survivors of the deadly Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Matthew Haynes, founding owner of Club Q. The Committee also heard testimony from Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign; Brandon Wolf, survivor of the Pulse Nightclub shooting; Olivia Hunt, Policy Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality; Jessie Pocock, CEO and Executive Director of Inside Out Youth Services; and Ilan Meyer, Distinguished Senior Scholar for Public Policy at the Williams Instititue
Survivors of anti-LGBTQI+
violence and expert witnesses emphasized that Republicans’ extremist
rhetoric and harmful policies have contributed to surging violence,
intimidation, and an unprecedented rise in hate crimes against the
LGBTQI+ community.
- Mr. Anderson testified:
“It was places like gay bars and clubs that helped me embrace who I was
and formed me into the man I am today … 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 … 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.”
- Mr. Haynes testified: “I
know that we, our Club Q community, are in the thoughts and prayers of
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 that we were targeted
for the next hate crime … When you take hate and access to military
style assault weapons, putting those together is total carnage.”
- Mr. Slaugh testified: “ I
don’t want to imagine what may have happened if the shooter had 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.”
- Responding to Rep.
Cicilline, Brandon Wolf testified: “Words have consequences...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 is already seeing hate against it on the
rise, 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.
Witnesses detailed the
growing list of harmful anti-LGBTQI+ policies championed by Republicans
at every level of government and the ways in which they are undermining
the ability of LGBTQI+ people to live authentically and without fear.
- In response to a
question from Rep. Bush about the proliferation of Republican bills
targeting LGBTQI+ people, Ms. Robinson stated: “It’s a crisis that we
are experiencing. We are trying to 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 are enacted,
they have a devastating impact on our community.”
- Responding to a question
from Chairwoman Maloney about the threat of a federal “Don’t Say Gay”
law, Ms. Robinson testified: “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.”
- Brandon Wolf explained
the impact of Florida’s law limiting discussion of sexual orientation or
gender identity in schools: “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. 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.”
- In response to a
question from Rep. Raskin on how extreme Republican laws affect the
mental health and physical safety of LGBTQI+ youth, Ms. Hunt testified:
“When children are told that they’re not part of society, 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.”
Witnesses and Democratic
Members emphasized the need to take bold action to push back against
extreme anti-LGBTQI+ policies and advance the health, safety, and rights
of LGBTQI+ people
- Responding to a question
from Congresswoman Norton on the importance of the Equality Act, Mr.
Wolf testified: “It’s important because we are not afforded the same
nondiscrimination protections as other people. I say this as a person in
the state of Florida. One of the things we’ve worked on with Equality
Florida for years is implementing comprehensive nondiscrimination
protections for LGBTQ people in our state, so what does that mean? It
means protecting people from being denied housing because we have a
boyfriend, not a girlfriend. It protects LGBTQ people from being fired
because we have a picture of our spouse on the desk.”
- Responding to
questioning from Rep. Raskin, Ms. Pocock explained: “We know that when
you build an inclusive classroom you have young folks who are more
engaged, who are more likely to show up in school, and so 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,
the research shows, the very best thing we can do for young people.”
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