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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, according to a 2018 report by the Urban Indian Health Institute, Utah is
38 ranked 8th and Salt Lake City is ranked 9th nationwide for cases of missing and murdered
39 Native American women, girls, and LGBT+;
40 WHEREAS, challenges in collecting data and tracking prevent a full understanding of
41 the scope of the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and LGBT+;
42 WHEREAS, tribal nations and community leaders are actively working to prevent
43 further violence against tribal community members in the state of Utah;
44 WHEREAS, this crisis affects the well-being of individuals and communities both on
45 and off tribal nations located in the state of Utah; and
46 WHEREAS, in 2018, the United States Senate proclaimed May 5th "National Day of
47 Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls":
48 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
49 Governor concurring therein, designates May 5th of each year as the "Missing and Murdered
50 Indigenous Women, Girls, and LGBT+ Awareness Day"; and
51 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor call on the people
52 of Utah and interested groups to:
53 (1) commemorate the lives of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and
54 LGBT+ whose cases are documented or undocumented in public records and the media; and
55 (2) demonstrate solidarity with the families of the victims in light of those tragedies.