In Maryland and across the nation, LGBTQ+ individuals face adversity at higher levels than many other communities. This adversity is felt in all intersections of life including education, health care, housing, and criminal justice to name a few. To provide a brief snapshot, more than half of LGBTQ+ youth in Maryland report they have been harassed or assaulted in schools. Further, LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience depression and to attempt suicide. Members of this community are also more likely to experience housing instability, food insecurity, and are more likely to be represented in the foster care system. Maryland’s LGBTQ+ seniors also face housing discrimination, harassment, and victimization at higher levels. LGBTQ+ Marylanders deserve a governor who will fight for their rights and create a state where every person can thrive.
With the commitment to better the wellbeing of Maryland’s LGBTQ+ population, the Moore-Miller administration will:
- Support students who identify as LGBTQ+ by fully implementing the newly passed Inclusive Schools Act, ensuring Maryland schools adopt LGBTQ+ affirming policies, create partnerships with organizations working with LGBTQ+ youth to provide additional resources needed to support our students, and broaden access to trauma-informed mental health care in schools.
- Support the passage of the Trans Health Equity Act to ensure transgender Marylanders can receive the gender-affirming health care they need.
- Abolish Maryland’s outdated laws that criminalize HIV, which disproportionately affect and stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community.
- Work with the LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce and community to build and publish a list of LGBTQ+ businesses so state agencies can more easily identify and contract with them.
- Ensure the LGBTQ+ community has a seat at the table and voice in the discussion, and work to implement the recommendations of Maryland’s newly created LGBTQ+ Commission.
- Stand as a brick wall against any anti-LGBTQ+ legislation or policies and welcome families and businesses from states enacting homophobic and transphobic social agendas, demonstrating that Maryland remains open and inclusive for all.