Bill Text: CA AR113 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to Transgender History Month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-07-03 - Introduced. [AR113 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AR113-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
House Resolution
No. 113
| Introduced by Assembly Member Haney (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Cervantes, Jackson, Lee, Low, Ward, and Zbur) (Principal coauthors: Senators Atkins, Eggman, Laird, Menjivar, Padilla, and Wiener) |
July 03, 2024 |
Relative to Transgender History Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HR 113, as introduced, Haney.
Digest Key
Bill Text
WHEREAS, The suppression of gender variance among indigenous California cultures by Spanish and later Anglo settlers was a foundational event of the history of the state, as documented in the journal of soldier Pedro Fages, who wrote in 1775 about native peoples he encountered near present-day San Diego, whom he described as “those Indian men who, both here and farther inland, observed in the dress, clothing, and character of women… They are called joyas, and they are held in great esteem.”; and
WHEREAS, The social fluidity of Gold Rush-era California attracted countless people who lived transgender lives in the mid-19th century, including legendary stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst, whose life story was celebrated in the popular television show Death Valley Days, hosted by Ronald Reagan; and
WHEREAS, San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood has been known as a residential district for two-spirit, transgender, gender-expansive, and intersex (2STGI) people since the second half of the 19th century, when it was home to people such as “Jenny O.,” a trans woman who corresponded with the famous German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld about her life in the Tenderloin; and
WHEREAS, Some of the earliest support organizations for cross-dressers were founded in Los Angeles by Virginia Prince in the early 1960s; and
WHEREAS, The 1959 Cooper Do-nuts Riot in Los Angeles and the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco were important acts of collective resistance to police violence targeting trans people, years before the better-known Stonewall Riot in New York; and
WHEREAS, The Black transfem performer Sir Lady Java filed the first antitrans employment discrimination lawsuit in the country in 1969 in Los Angeles, when she fought the cancellation of her show at the Redd Foxx nightclub on La Cienega Boulevard, leading ultimately to the overturning of antidrag ordinances in 1969 and which laid the groundwork for successful challenges of employment discrimination pertaining to gay and lesbian and transgender people; and
WHEREAS, In the 1960s and 70s, Ojai resident Reed Erickson, a multimillionaire trans man, funded the establishment of university-based sex reassignment clinics at Johns Hopkins University, UCLA, and elsewhere, providing a foundation to support the work of San Francisco-based doctor Harry Benjamin and his landmark 1966 book The Transsexual Phenomenon, and whose Erickson Educational Foundation funded the nation’s first trans peer support group, the National Transsexual Counseling Unit, in 1968; and
WHEREAS, The 1973 West Coast Lesbian Conference at UCLA became the first national flashpoint for trans issues in the women’s movement when attendees voted on whether to accept the participation of trans lesbian singer Beth Elliott; and
WHEREAS, San Francisco resident Lou Sullivan, a trans man, founded FTM, the first national and international support organization for transmasculine people, in the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, Legendary media scholar and Jimi Hendrix’s recording engineer, Sandy Stone, launched the academic field of transgender studies with her “Posttranssexual Manifesto” while earning her PhD in History of Consciousness Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1987; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, the City and County of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee appointed Theresa Sparks as the Mayor’s Senior Advisory on Transgender Initiatives, making San Francisco the first city in the nation to have a position dedicated to advancing the rights of and creating policies for the transgender community; and
WHEREAS, In 2017, the City and County of San Francisco established the Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI). OTI is the first and only transgender-led city government office in the country and world working with communities to advance policies, programs, and equity for transgender, gender nonconforming, and LGBTQ San Franciscans; and
WHEREAS, In 2017, San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood became home to the world’s first legally recognized transgender cultural district, which serves to create an urban environment that empowers 2STGI individuals residing in the neighborhood through cultural, economic, and historical preservation initiatives; and
WHEREAS, 2STGI Californians continue to win election to public office, star as leads in television shows and films, lead organizations, create educational initiatives, and serve in the United States Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, Despite the national recognition of LGBTQ+ history month, there is no proper representation and emphasis on the imperative leadership of 2STGI individuals in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights throughout history, and the 2STGI community substantially trails behind the level of inclusion and acceptance afforded to the broader LGBTQ+ community; and
WHEREAS, Despite awareness of influence on other movements categorized by resistance and liberation, prominent portions of 2STGI history remain undiscovered, unrecognized, and outside mainstream consciousness; and
WHEREAS, 2STGI people across the nation and the globe are being dehumanized and politicized in recent culture wars and their contributions to the history of the United States and its territories are being erased and their existence being portrayed as a recent cultural development, despite having existed throughout all known human history; and
WHEREAS, We are now at a new pinnacle of 2STGI visibility, with violence towards 2STGI people continuing with high prevalence and frequency without being met with adequate responses of justice and accountability; and
WHEREAS, California has long been the epicenter of the trans liberation movement, possessing suitable historical qualities sufficient for the recognition of Transgender History Month as an opportunity to provide education, insight, and awareness of the monumental contributions to Golden State history by 2STGI Californians; and
WHEREAS, Discrimination, exclusion, and ignorance towards the 2STGI community continue to perpetuate violence and disparity; and
WHEREAS, While California is a leader in defending the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ people, our state is not immune to the national wave of LGBTQ+ hate, violence, and political attacks, which disproportionately impacts 2STGI people particularly. California’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, especially the community’s 2STGI population, is needed even more in the face of rising extremism and hostility in California and across the nation and globe; and
WHEREAS, Nationally, there were over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country during the 2023 legislative year, and there are already over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures across the nation as of the June 2024 legislative year; and
WHEREAS, The aforementioned anti-LGBTQ+ bills disproportionately target 2STGI people and include efforts to prohibit access to lifesaving gender-affirming medical care, prevent 2STGI youth from playing school sports alongside their friends, erase 2STGI identities from vital records and state driver’s licenses, ban books that include 2STGI people and history, prohibit 2STGI people from using restrooms and facilities in accordance with their gender identity, and criminalize 2STGI people who bravely embrace their authentic selves amid rising hostility; and
WHEREAS, According to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, the legal landscape for trans youth shifted significantly in 2023, and 105,200 trans youth, about one-third of trans youth in the United States, live in states that ban access to gender-affirming care, 101,500 trans youth, about one-third of trans youth in the United States, live in states that restrict access to school sports for trans students, and 32,700 trans youth live in states that ban trans students from using school bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity; and
WHEREAS, California has become a safe haven for many LGBTQ+ people across the United States, its territories, and beyond, including for its access to health care and robust civil rights laws allowing LGBTQ+ people to live their authentic lives; and
WHEREAS, Antitrans legislation, executive actions, local ordinances, school policies, practices, misinformation, and rhetoric endanger the psychological and physical well-being of 2STGI youth, with 86 percent of 2STGI youth reporting these actions negatively impacting their mental health, as well as 45 percent reporting they experienced online harassment, 24 percent reporting they were bullied in school, 27 percent reporting they have been physically threatened or harmed due to their gender identity, and 64 percent reporting that they have felt discriminated against due to their gender identity; and
WHEREAS, Discriminatory legislation, executive actions, local ordinances, school policies, practices, misinformation, and rhetoric across the country and here in California have all contributed to rising hate and violence directed against members of the 2STGI community, in particular Black trans women, prompting a number of civil rights organizations to declare an epidemic of violence against 2STGI people; and
WHEREAS, The latest Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) annual crime report of 2022 showed that anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes were up sharply from the prior year, with a 13.8-percent increase in reports based on sexual orientation and a 32.9-percent increase in reports based on gender identity; and
WHEREAS, The FBI-reported hate crime rates among LGBTQ+ victims, particularly 2STGI victims, are likely incomplete, as cities and states across the nation are reporting incomplete or inaccurate data, or no data at all, on hate crimes committed against the LGBTQ+ community; and
WHEREAS, The FBI reported that schools were the third most commonly known location for hate crimes against LGBTQ+ youth and community members, and that hate crimes more than doubled at elementary and secondary schools and universities from 2018 to 2022, inclusive; and
WHEREAS, The FBI noted that participation in the collection of the aforementioned data regarding hate crime reports in schools is voluntary for most agencies and is only mandatory for federal agencies, and is thus likely incomplete and underreported; and
WHEREAS, Demonstrating actions led by principles of respect, value, and honor will aid a community that continues to fight for proper acknowledgment; and
WHEREAS, The month of August has particular significance to the trans community as it is the month when the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots are commemorated. One of the first LGBTQ+ civil rights uprising in the United States, the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots took place in August of 1966 in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, which has now been designated as the world’s first transgender cultural district; and
WHEREAS, Supporting the 2STGI community by designating August as Transgender History Month will create a culture led by research, education, and scholarly recognition of the contributions of 2STGI Californians to our great state’s history, and will educate future generations of Californians on the importance of this history; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assembly declares the month of August of each year as Transgender History Month; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature joins communities across our nation to increase awareness about the importance of 2STGI leaders, and commits to removing all barriers to 2STGI communities, individuals, and families and upholding human rights for all; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
