Minutes 06-15-2021 Virtual Business meeting

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8 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data indicates that 16% of high school youth and 10% of middle school youth identify as LGBT or questioning. The country continues to face tragic levels of violence against transgender people, especially transgender women of color. And the public is still haunted by tragedies such as the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. Ending violence and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community demands continued focus and diligence. Society must be committed to defending the rights of all LGBTQ+ individuals. Annette Moore, Human Rights and Relations Director, reviewed the background information. She said there are still many states where LGBTQ individuals lack protection for fundamental rights and dignity and hospitals, schools, public accommodations. She said some states have actively chosen to target transgender youth by enacting discriminatory legislation. She said, this year, five Governors have signed legislation banning transgender individuals from sports, and 30 other states have introduced legislation. She said in North Carolina, HB 358 "Save Women's Sports Act" was an attempted ban on transgender women from Sports in North Carolina. She said the bill was set-aside in this legislature, but is expected to be taken out next year. She said only 20 states have banned conversion therapy, and it is still legal in NC. She said CHCCS and OCS have conducted a Youth Risk Behavioral Survey. She said OCS decided not to include information about sexual identity in its survey, thus the only source of LGBTQ youth data is from CHCCS. She reviewed some of these statistics. She said a great source of information about youth is the Trevor Project, which recently conducted a nationwide study of 35,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13-24. She said 12% of white youth attempted suicide compared to 31% of native or indigenous youth, 21% of Black youth, 21% of multi-racial youth, 18% of Latinx youth, and 12% of Asian youth. She said 48% of LGBTQ youth wanted counseling but were unable to receive it in the last year, and 75% experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender at least once in their lifetime. She said half of LGBTQ youth of color reported discrimination based on race or ethnicity in the past year, including 67% of Black LGBTQ and 60% of Asian-Pacific Islander LGBTQ youth. She said 62% of LGBTQ youth reported symptoms of major depressive disorder in the past two weeks. She said the study also found that LGBTQ youth who had more pride, had lower odds of attempting suicide compared to those with lower levels of pride, and this relationship was even stronger among transgender and non-binary youth. She said she cannot disaggregate for LGBTQ youth in Orange County, but as a whole, 12% of all high school students and 15% middle school students seriously considered suicide. She asked the Board to urge the General Assembly to protect rights of LGBTQ residents in NC, especially children. Commissioner Dorosin read the proclamation: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING JUNE 2021 AS PRIDE MONTH WHEREAS, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) Pride Month is celebrated nationally each year in the month of June, this month being chosen to commemorate the riots that took place at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan on the morning of June 28, 1969, often viewed as the birth of the modern LGBTQ rights movement; and WHEREAS, several major United States Supreme Court decisions impacting LGBTQ rights in a positive way have been announced in June, including Lawrence v Texas, U.S. v Windsor, Obergefell v Hodges, Pavan v. Smith, and Bostock v. Clayton County, and another decision is forthcoming this month that will impact LGBT rights in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia; and