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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DESIGNATING MAY 5 AS

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MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN, GIRLS,

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AND LGBT+ AWARENESS DAY

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2019 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Angela Romero

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Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla

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9     LONG TITLE
10     General Description:
11          This concurrent resolution designates May 5 as "Missing and Murdered Indigenous
12     Women, Girls, and LGBT+ Awareness Day."
13     Highlighted Provisions:
14          This resolution:
15          ▸     highlights data and impacts related to missing and murdered indigenous women,
16     girls, and LGBT+;
17          ▸     designates May 5 as "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and LGBT+
18     Awareness Day"; and
19          ▸     calls on the people of Utah and interested groups to commemorate the lives of
20     missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and LGBT+ and demonstrate
21     solidarity with the families.
22     Special Clauses:
23          None
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25     Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
26          WHEREAS, according to the United States Census there are over 70,300 Native
27     Americans living in the state of Utah in one of the eight federally recognized tribal nations or
28     within Utah's urban areas;
29          WHEREAS, according to a study commissioned by the United States Department of

30     Justice, indigenous women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average;
31          WHEREAS, according to the most recently available data from the Centers for Disease
32     Control and Prevention, in 2015, homicide:
33          (1) ranged from the second to seventh leading cause of death for Native American
34     females between 1 and 39 years of age; and
35          (2) remained a leading cause of death for most Native American females between 40
36     and 64 years of age;
37          WHEREAS, challenges in collecting data and tracking prevent a full understanding of
38     the scope of the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and LGBT+;
39          WHEREAS, tribal nations and community leaders are actively working to prevent
40     further violence against tribal community members in the state of Utah;
41          WHEREAS, this crisis affects the well-being of individuals and communities both on
42     and off tribal nations located in the state of Utah; and
43          WHEREAS, in 2018, the United States Senate proclaimed May 5th "National Day of
44     Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls":
45          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
46     Governor concurring therein, designates May 5th of each year as the "Missing and Murdered
47     Indigenous Women, Girls, and LGBT+ Awareness Day."
48          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor call on the people
49     of Utah and interested groups to:
50          (1) commemorate the lives of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and
51     LGBT+ whose cases are documented or undocumented in public records and the media; and
52          (2) demonstrate solidarity with the families of the victims in light of those tragedies.