Resolution 2021-31713 RESOLUTION NO. 2021-31713
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, DECLARING MAY 17, 2021 AS "DAY
AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA, AND BIPHOBIA" IN
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
WHEREAS, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and
Biphobia, celebrated annually on May 17, was created in 2004 to draw the attention to
the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or
expressions, and sex characteristics; and
WHEREAS, the date of May 17 was specifically chosen to commemorate the
World Health Organization's decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental
disorder; and
WHEREAS, May 17 is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37
countries where same-sex acts are illegal; and
WHEREAS, May 17 represents a major global annual landmark to draw the
attention of decision makers, the media, the public, corporations, opinion leaders, and
local authorities, to the alarming situation faced by people with diverse sexual
orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics; and
WHEREAS, a 2020 national study conducted by the Center for American Progress
found that many LGBTQ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, in
the workplace and the public sphere, and in their access to critical health care - leading
to many adverse consequences for their financial, mental, and physical well-being; and
WHEREAS, major findings from the study include:
• More than 1 in 3 LGBTQ Americans faced discrimination of some kind in the
past year, including more than 3 in 5 transgender Americans.
• Discrimination adversely affects the mental and economic well-being of many
LGBTQ Americans, including 1 in 2 who report moderate or significant negative
psychological impacts.
• To avoid the experience of discrimination, more than half of LGBTQ Americans
report hiding a personal relationship, and about one-fifth to one-third have
altered other aspects of their personal or work lives.
• Around 3 in 10 LGBTQ Americans faced difficulties last year accessing
necessary medical care due to cost issues, including more than half of
transgender Americans.
• 15 percent of LGBTQ Americans report postponing or avoiding medical
treatment due to discrimination, including nearly 3 in 10 transgender
individuals.
• Transgender individuals faced unique obstacles to accessing health care,
including 1 in 3 who had to teach their doctor about transgender individuals in
order to receive appropriate care; and
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia contribute to disparities in physical and mental
health indicators such as depression, substance use, cancer, and experiences of abuse
and violence; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further report that
homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia limit an individual's ability to access high-quality
health care and negatively affect such individual's income and employment status; and
WHEREAS, in addition, over the last few years, there has been a disturbing
proliferation of anti-trans bills, specifically targeting transgender and nonbinary people for
discrimination, such as by barring or criminalizing healthcare for transgender youth,
barring access to the use of appropriate facilities like restrooms, restricting transgender
students' ability to fully participate in school and sports, allowing religiously-motivated
discrimination against trans people, or making it more difficult for trans people to get
identification documents with their name and gender; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, approximately thirty (30) states have introduced and are
considering legislation that would ban transgender students from competing on school
sports teams that align with their gender identities; and
WHEREAS, so far South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia,
and Tennessee have already enacted sports bans this year, with a similar bill in Florida
pending Governor DeSantis' signature; and
WHEREAS, these broadly unpopular bills are not only damaging to trans youth
and anti-science, but further stigmatize and contribute to on-going violence against trans
people; and
WHEREAS, transgender Americans of all ages face high rates of violence,
harassment, and discrimination; nearly one in three transgender Americans have
experienced homelessness at some point in life; many transgender Americans continue
to face discrimination in employment, housing, health care, and public accommodations;
and the on-going crisis of violence against transgender women, especially transgender
women of color, is a stain on our Nation's conscience; and
WHEREAS, the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, a study of 27,715 transgender
adults, found that 77 percent of those who were out or perceived as transgender in K-12
were harassed, physically or sexually assaulted, or faced other forms of mistreatment
because of being transgender, and nearly 1 in 5 (17 percent) were forced to leave a
school because of the severity of mistreatment that they faced; and
WHEREAS, since 2013, the Human Rights Campaign ("HRC") and other LGBTQ
advocacy groups have tracked more than 180 cases of anti-transgender fatal violence
across more than 33 states, spanning across 113 cities and towns in 33 states, the District
of Columbia and Puerto Rico; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, the HRC has recorded at least 33 violent deaths of
transgender or gender non-conforming persons, representing more violent deaths of
transgender or gender non-conforming people than any year since tracking began in
2013; and
WHEREAS, at least 11 transgender people have been murdered so far in 2021 —
a 266 percent increase from this point in 2020, when three trans people had been
murdered; and
WHEREAS, more than half of the victims so far in 2021, are Black trans women;
and
WHEREAS, Black and Brown transgender women in particular face dehumanizing
stigma -- a stigma that is only worsened by systemic racism and sexism, which, in
combination with the all-too-common denial of opportunity to succeed in school and on
the job, puts these women at increased risk of intimate partner violence and sexual
assault, engagement in survival sex work, and risk of poverty and homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission support the goals and ideals of an
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, and stand together
with, and in support of, all members of the LGBTQ community as we strive to ensure
justice and protection for all.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA that the Mayor and the City
hereby declare May 17, 2021 as "Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia"
in the City of Miami Beach.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED this day of as , 2021.
ATTEST:
Dan Gelber, Mayor
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Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk
(Sponsored by Commissioner David Richardson)
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MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Rafael A. Paz,Acting City Attorney
DATE: May 12, 2021
SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF MIAMI
BEACH, FLORIDA, DECLARING MAY 17, 2021 AS "DAY AGAINST
HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA, AND BIPHOBIA" IN THE CITY OF MIAMI
BEACH.
RECOMMENDATION
The attached Resolution was prepared at the request of Commissioner David Richardson, the
sponsor of this item, for consideration at the May 12,2021 City Commission meeting.
SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA
N/A
Is this a"Residents Right Does this item utilize G.O.
to Know" item. pursuant to Bond Funds?
City Code Section 2-14?
No No
Legislative Trackino
Office of the City Attorney
Sponsor
Commissioner David Richardson
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
o Resolution
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