our second panel of witnesses who will be taking questions. first will hear from miss kelley robinson, the new president of the human rights campaign, thank you. then we will hear from miss olivia hunt, policy director of the national center for transgender equality. then we will hear from dr. elon mayer, distinguished senior, scholar for the public policy at the williams institute. then we will hear from mr. charles lehman, fellow at the manhattan institute. then we will hear from miss jesse --, ceo and director of inside-out youth services. finally, we will hear from mr. brandon wolf, survivor of the pulse nightclub shooting. the witnesses will now be unmuted so that we may swear you in. please raise your right hand. do you swear to affirm the testimony you are about to give is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? let the records show that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. thank you, without objection, your written statements will be part of the record. with that, miss robinson, you are now recognized for your testimony, congratulations on your election. thank you. >> thank you, chairman maloney. thank you comer and members of the committee for huawei about to testify today. my name is kelley robinson, my pronouns are she, her, hers, i'm part of the larger civil rights organization working for human equality, for lesbian, gay, transgender and queer people. on the behalf of more than 3 million members in some quarters, i am proud to testify in support of this hearing, and demand united action to enter the rising tide of hate and violence targeting our community. i am so grateful for the strength and courage of the club q survivors testifying here today. compounding this tragedy is the fact that this instance is just one example of the violence but shattered lgbtq plus lives, our families, our lives for the past few years. violence and discrimination against lgbtqi+ communities is a tragic result of a society that values our lives, particularly the lives of black, brown, transgender and non-gender confirming people. this hate and violence is on the rise, it is fueled by nearly unfettered access to guns, political extremism and rhetoric that is deliberately devised to make our community less safe, less equal and less free. violence has become a lived reality for so many in our community. even in 2021, one in five of all hate crimes reported to the fbi or motivated by anti lgbtq plus bias. these violent threats, disproportionately affected transgender people. over the last ten years, human rights campaign track over 300 incidents of fatal violence against trans gendered and gender nonconforming people. in 2022 so far, they reported the murders of 35 people. among the committee members lost this year, 85% or people of color, and 85% were transgender women. these acts of hatred have devastated consequences. often, these experiences leave community members, especially marginalized people more likely to live in poverty, to experience housing instability and homelessness, and to lack access to opportunities that would allow them and their families to thrive. this violence does not happen in a vacuum. anti-lgbtqi+ lawmakers efforts directly increase the risk of violence facing our communities today. state lawmakers have advanced an onslaught of anti-lgbtqi+ bills to restrict where and how we can freely and openly be our true selves. in 2022, 344 of these bills were introduced across 23 states. more than 25 of these bills were ultimately enacted across 13 states, 17 of which have a disproportionate or targeted impact on transgender people. these bills often target the youngest among us, harming children and their families. they also target the trained professionals like doctors and teachers who care for them. these unrelenting efforts by extremist lawmakers help reinforce inflammatory narratives about the community, regardless of whether or not the underlying bills are enacted. these have been weaponized many times in the past against our community, to enact discriminatory laws, to encourage extremist rhetoric and to enable violence. the recent increase in anti-lgbtq plus cleric amplify by lawmakers, fueling growing attacks in our communities, is happening in state houses, in schools, on street corners. yesterday, we released a report identifying 24 hospitals and providers across 22 states, attacked online. following this, leading and inflammatory social post from bad actors. just last week, california state senator scott weiner, himself, a gay, jewish man was a target of a bomb threat because of his support, working with trans youth and their families. included in the threat were two words. pedophile and groomer. these threats are being made in every corner of our country, targeting lgbtq+ people, our spaces and our allies. it is happening in tulsa, where vandals firebombed a donut shop after it hosted an art installation run by drag queens. it happened in texas, after a pastor uploaded a video, asserting that gave people quote, lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head. we must take action, action to prevent future violence and harm against these communities. first, social media, lawmakers and other stakeholders must enable practices to fight this hate online. second, we must pass the equality act, to level the playing field and ensure that lgbtq+ people are protected from discrimination. third, we have to pass common sense gun safety measures to protect our communities from the most extreme acts of violence. ultimately, we all have to work to repudiate anti lgbtq+ rhetoric and falsehoods in the strongest possible terms. because our lives are quite literally on the line, thank you. thank you. >> then we will hear from ms. olivia hunt, policy center for the national trans gender equality center. >> thank you, madam chair. members of the committee. thank you for convening this hearing and for shining a light on the causes of increasing violence facing the lgbtq community. working for the national center of transgender equality has been a dream job for me since before it started law school. there has been no greater honor in my career than being event here today to speak in front of the committee of my community this has been a dream job for me but also a job by apple one day no longer be necessary. the past year events make it clear that day still a long way off a long time ago my 47 on transgender americans has lives have been lost to violence since the member of 2021. we released it on november 18th. before dawn on transgender day of remembrance, of every 20th, the transgender shooting in club q met it was already out today. like some of the acts, the shooting at club q do not have another vacuum. this summer representative comer tweeted that we need to examine the root causes of increased violence in america. today, we are doing just that. this violence with catalyzed by cultural climate filled with anti lgbtq legislation. think pieces debating the ledge -- just asking questions. politicians and public figures encouraging their bases to target in threaten lgbtq friendly events in organizations. fearmongering in the press and on social media. most of these attacks, and the misinformation that fuels them, are targeted trans people. and far too often at trans youth. in 2022, the and the track 27 different pieces of anti-trans legislation across 35 states. 12 states indicted least one of these bills. more than 80% of them targeted the rights of vulnerable trans youth and adults. in addition, this year politicians in several straits use administrative rather than legislative processes to attack the rights of trans people. the attorney general harassed the families of trans children, falsely labeling support of their children as child abuse. when politicians and pundits treat peoples lives as a matter of public debate, the media response in kind. giving anti-trans advocates a larger platform to share their hostile rhetoric. sensationalist had lines care more about attracting clicks then reporting the facts. for example, just days before the club q shooting, the new york times published a front page article perpetuating misinformation about gender affirming care for children. even one anti-trans policies are defeated, they impacted trans group -- by the 2021 study by the trevor project, 85% of transducer porter that the public debates around their civil rights, their place in society, left i'm scared, stressed, angry, and hopeless. even more concerning, the same dehumanizing rhetoric that inflame currencies also -- around the general public. while politicians in the media paint trans people as something to be treated with fear and discuss, people who are already receptive that message take it to heart. it reinforces their prejudices. in their minds, trans people either become victims to be saved or villains to be punished. one example of this inaction is the misuse of the term, groomer. anti lgbtq activists have appropriated this -- used to slander lgbtq people and our allies is predatory, harmful towards children. in reality, trans people are significantly more likely to be the victims of sexual abuse and the perpetrator love it. now, this miso toronto you have become part of the political discourse around trans people. it is invoked as a reason to further restrict our rights in the name of protecting children. the same rhetoric has subsequently been used for justification's anti-lgbtq activism. heavily armed protesters have made numerous attacks or attempted intimidation against family friendly pride events and drag reforms around the country. even hospitals have been targeted with bomb threats and intimidation tactics. based on social media figures spreading baseless stories, they are in their words mutilating children. there is a straight line that could be drawn from the legislation trying to strip trans people of our human rights to the increasingly hostile and inflammatory rhetoric proclaiming a sub threat to society. to the acts of violence that have taken for too many lives. the people engaged in these efforts, from the politicians and media efforts to normalize the dehumanization trans people, to the influencers who flew -- to the people brandishing firearms bearing culpability for the violence that ensues. the williams institute estimates there are 1. 6 million americans, age 13 and up, who are transgender. we live in every state of the nation. we are librarians, your baristas, your postal workers, your i. t. department. your children, your doctors, your nurses, and your ministers. trans people are also your constituents. transferable are part of the fabric of american society. we belong, we deserve to be protected, and we matter. thank you. >> thank you very much. dr. meyer, you are now recognized for your testimony. dr. myron. thank you. chairwoman maloney, ranking member -- distinguished member of the committee. i'm a public health researcher, a senior scholar of public health at the williams institute in ucla school of law. a member of expertise is the study of the effect of social stress related to prejudice and discrimination on the health of the lgbtq population. the lgbtq rights have seen significant developments over the past few decades. homophobia and transphobia are embedded in american history and culture they produce stress which i referred to as minority stress distress intersects with stigma and prejudice based on other so other different lgbt subgroups, such as people of color, experience social stress differently every lgbtq person has to learn to cope with stress related to stigma throughout their lives. studies have concluded that minority -- can result in an array of mental health problems including depressive symptoms, subs suicide ideation and them. in recent years, we have seen a resurgence of anti lgbtq rhetoric and violence, including the recent shooting in club q in colorado. but violence against lgbtq people is not new. in several recent studies, analyzing data collected by the department of justice as part of the national crime victimization survey, my colleagues and i found that the odds of experiencing a violent victimization, defined as rape, sexual assault, robbery, or simple assault, or four times higher for lgbtq for non-lgbtq people. and assisting victimization -- we specifically, we found that transgender people had four times the rate of intimidation. we also assessed at the distribution of hate crimes when -- a subset of violent victimization -- and found lgbtq people experience eight times as many eight crimes as non lgbtq people. lgbtq people are socialized like most people in society to believe that being lgbtq is wrong and to believe in stereotypical and stigmatizing ideas, such as that an lgbtq person, as an lgbtq person, they will never find happiness and a family who will love them. as children and youth, lgbtq individuals often experienced rejection and even violence by family. many are bullied at school. some sent to so-called conversion therapies that teach them the various stereotypes and self hatred that mental health professionals say they should learn to undo. evidence also shows that lgbtq people are more likely to experience socioeconomic stress, including higher rates of poverty, housing instability, and food insecurity. specific sub populations including transgender people, bisexuals, lgbtq people of color, and all the lgbtq people are especially vulnerable. transgender people have seen fewer positive social and legal changes in that the past few decades then sexual minority people. they have seen an increase in hostile public rhetoric in recent years. gendered non affirmation is a particular stress that affects the health of transgender individuals. gender non affirmation refers to the denial of recognition of a gender, of a transgender person's gender and -- their humanity and -- it is one form of gender affirmation. research has shown that transgender individuals who receive hormone therapy or the surgical care they needed had a lower prevalence of wanting suicide attempt as compared with those who had not received the care they needed. and summary, research shows that stigma, violence, and discrimination remain pervasive stressors for lgbtq people. while same-sex marriages have become more accepted in american society, lgbtq people still, like many nondiscrimination protections that would have been afforded them under the equality act. a lot more needs to be done to afford lgbtq people equality, dignity, and improve their health and well-being. thank you. >> thank you so much. mr. lehman, you are now recognized for your testimony. >> thank you to the committee to address you today. before i begin, i want to take a moment to acknowledge the members of the prior panel for their bravery in speaking out in regards to the horrific violence perpetrated against them. victims of hate crimes deserve to be heard. i applaud the committee for giving them this platform. i'm here today in my capacity as an analyst of crime, particularly hate crimes. bias motivated offense is a serious and pressing issue in the united states. some 7300 hate crimes for reported to the fbi in 2021 including nearly 1400 offenses targeting lesbian gay bisexual transgender individuals on the basis of their sexual identity. due to the basis of national porting, according to the national incident base recording system -- different hate crime verification through the states. these figures are almost certainly a dramatic undercount. given this opportunity to address lawmakers my priority is to advise you and how best to reduce the frequency of such events. in my limit time therefore i want to argue the best way to combat hate crime is to engage like other types of crime. hate based offenders are not specialists. the traditional criminal justice system is a effective way to create hate crime. many people, sadly, bear some analysts to others on the basis of their identity, including towards lgbtq people. the number that bear animus is almost certainly much larger than the number of people who will create a hate crime. this is, i submit, because bias motivated defending also requires the anti social tendencies and lack of self control which characterized criminal offenses in general. to commit hate crime, it is not enough to. hey one must also feel entitled to act out that hate on another individual. as a consequence it a little surprised he crime offenders are not, as i say, specialists. they tend to offend in non bias motivated individuals way. degree from the new york colonel justice service captures this phenomenon. hate crime offenders very demographically from other offenders, they have similar more serious criminal histories across a variety of marriage. frequency across conviction and risk of arrest falling arraignment. the tragedy that is the highlight of today's meeting has no -- the club q shooter was previously arrested for making threats against their own mother -- that case was dismissed because the family declined uproar cooperate. have prosecutors succeeded in convincing that prosecutions, 5 people might be alive today. i'll pass a law enforcement also failed to subject the shooter to colorado's red flag law. a risk they did not see posed to the community. saying hate offenders are like other offenders does not mean that hate crimes are not different than other crimes. bias motivated offending is uniquely toxic to the mutual tolerance that makes a free and democratic society possible. americans have the freedom to disagree about issues that touch on matters of identity. such disagreement as possible, in no small part, because we refused to tolerate acting out of animus and violence. hating crime enhancement are proportional response to the egregiousness of this offense. what the proceeding does mean is the criminal justice system is a quick venue for reducing the frequency bias motivated offenses. this is particularly true as compared to approaches aim to compare hate crimes by educating against or otherwise reducing bias. to be sure reducing violence is a laudable goal, even if it remains an open question, how do we do so effectively. at the population level most people who hate will never convert to hate to a crime. meaning education reduces very little poor all are spent.. rather, the members of this committee want to convict calm a hate crime they should do so by supporting the criminal justice system. but often police investigations, enter go to harry crime cases. put state and local prosecutors in special hey crime bureaus, including by coordinating information sharing and the challenging area of hay calm prosecution. increased federal hate crime penalties, and encourage the department of justice to pursue hate crime justice where local laws are insufficient. such as new york today, where the buffalo grocery shooter cannot be executed for his heinous effect, a situation that also applies in colorado. hate crimes against lgbtq people and otherwise are a serious issue and we must take them seriously. doing that means treating hate criminals like the criminals are. bringing the full power of the justice system to bear on them. thank you for your time. i welcome the committee's questions. >> thank you very much. thank you miss pocock you are now recognized for your testimony. >> thank you chairman maloney, ranking member comer, and the members of this community. my name is jessie pocock, the ceo of inside out youth services where since 1990 we have built access, equity, empower with lgbtq i plus people. i believe my job is one of the most joyful and sadly necessary work that exists. inside out is the only lgbtq specific center in colorado springs. i don't know how many inside a alumni survive that night at club q. i know that there is at least one who did not. let me remind us all, this is not okay. this is not norma