Nov. 20, 2019
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Joe Kennedy III today introduced a resolution commemorating International Transgender Day of Remembrance and honoring at least twenty-two transgender people who have been killed in the United States already this year. As Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus’s Transgender Equality Task Force, Kennedy has led the Congressional response to the Trump Administration’s attacks on transgender Americans.
“On International Transgender Day of Remembrance, we mourn the transgender loved ones we have lost and we channel their memory into action. With this resolution, we raise a unified voice to ensure that all transgender Americans know that they are seen and heard,” said Congressman Kennedy. “But more than that, we recommit to a nation and a world where their lives are valued equally by their government and that this crisis of violence against trans Americans, particularly trans women of color, is seen for exactly what is.”
To read Kennedy’s resolution, please click here. His resolution is cosponsored by Representatives Sharice Davids (KS-03), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Deb Haaland (NM-01), Angie Craig (MN-02), Nydia Velázquez (NY-12), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Jesús García (IL-04), André Carson (IN-07), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Adam Smith (WA-09), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Albio Sires (NJ-08), Dean Phillips (MN-03), Donald McEachin (VA-04), Jackie Speier (CA-14), Grace Meng (NY-06), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Susie Lee (NV-03), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Mark Takano (CA-41), Donna Shalala (FL-27), Kathy Castor (FL-14), David Cicilline (RI-01), Linda Sanchez (CA-38), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), and Luis Correa (CA-46).
Kennedy serves as chairman of the Congressional Transgender Equality Task Force. Following the Supreme Court Hobby Lobby decision, he introduced the Do No Harm Act with Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), which would amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to preserve civil rights. Last year, Kennedy led nearly 100 colleagues demanding the rejection of a proposed policy by the Department of Health and Human Services to redefine “sex” to exclude the transgender community and deny them basic civil rights protections. He has been a proud co-sponsor of major equality legislation, from the Equality Act to the Global Respect Act to the Student Non-Discrimination Act.
All official press releases from Former Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA)
