Designates November of each year as "Transgender Awareness Month."

SJR103

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

No. 103

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� M. TERESA RUIZ

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Designates November of each year as �Transgender
Awareness Month.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Joint
Resolution

designating November of
each year as �Transgender Awareness Month.�

Whereas,

Transgender individuals, who are people whose gender identity, expression, or
behavior is different from those typically associated with the person�s
assigned sex at birth, face considerable challenges in society, including
discrimination, harassment, physical abuse, and social isolation; and

Whereas,

It is estimated that 1.4 million adults in the United States identify as
transgender, a number double that previously thought, while the number of
transgender children in the United States is unknown; and

Whereas,

Transgender individuals make valuable contributions to every aspect of life,
including in academics, architecture, art, business, culture, economic
development, education, fashion, film, government, health, law, music,
politics, research, science, sports, and technology; and

Whereas,

According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, an anonymous online survey of
over 27,000 transgender adults, 10 percent of respondents who were out to their
families reported that they had experienced violence from a family member due
to their being transgender, while eight percent of respondents reported that
they were forced to leave the family home because they were transgender.�
Nearly 30 percent of survey respondents reported that they had been homeless at
some point in their lives; and

Whereas,

One-third of survey respondents who saw a health care provider in the year
preceding the survey reported having a negative experience related to being
transgender, including being refused treatment, verbal harassment, physical or
sexual assault, or having to educate the provider in order to get appropriate
care; and

Whereas,

Transgender individuals are more likely to experience physical violence than
those who are not transgender when interacting with law enforcement; and

Whereas,

According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 37 transgender people were
murdered in 2020, at least 47 were murdered in 2021, at least 34 were murdered
in 2022, and, as of July 2023, at least 14 transgender individuals have been
murdered in 2023; and

Whereas,

Despite federal legal protections, transgender students face daily challenges
in accessing the full array of educational, social, athletic, and after-school
activities that are available to students who are not transgender; and

Whereas,

More than 75 percent of survey respondents experienced some form of
mistreatment, including physical or sexual assault, between kindergarten and
grade 12, due to their being out or being perceived as transgender; and

Whereas,

Nearly one quarter of survey respondents who were out or perceived as being
transgender in college or vocational school reported being verbally,
physically, or sexually harassed; and

Whereas,

Transgender individuals are disproportionately unemployed due to
discrimination, and as a result, their circumstances may be rendered even more
difficult by poverty, which survey respondents reported experiencing at more
than twice the rate as is experienced in the general U.S. population; and

Whereas,

Because of the myriad difficulties they face in the course of their daily
lives, transgender individuals experience severe psychological distress, and
report attempting suicide at rates almost nine times that of the overall U.S.
population; and

Whereas,

There has been a significant increase in states introducing legislation that
targets transgender individuals and transgender youth in particular.� According
to the ACLU, as of July 2023, 491 anti-LGBTQI+ bills have been introduced
nationwide that would restrict access to health care, housing, education, and
free expression; and

Whereas,

Pursuant to P.L.2017, J.R.22 (C.36:2-317 et seq.), New Jersey recognizes
November 14 through November 20 of each year as �Transgender Awareness Week� in
New Jersey; and

Whereas,

Pursuant to P.L.2017, J.R.23 (C.36:2-319 et seq.), New Jersey recognizes the
last day of �Transgender Awareness Week,� November 20, as the �Transgender Day
of Remembrance,� in memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman whose brutal
murder in Boston in 1998 remains unsolved; and

Whereas,

It is fitting and proper to recognize the month of November each year as
�Transgender Awareness Month� in New Jersey, in recognition of the prejudice,
discrimination, and violence that transgender persons face, as well as in
recognition of the beauty, strength, and resilience of the transgender
community and the myriad contributions transgender individuals make to the
life, culture, and social fabric of the United States; now, therefore,

����
Be It
Resolved
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� November of each
year is designated as �Transgender Awareness Month� in the State of New Jersey
to increase awareness and understanding of the prejudice, discrimination, and
violence that transgender persons face, as well as in recognition of the beauty,
strength, and resilience of the transgender community and the myriad
contributions transgender individuals make to the life, culture, and social
fabric of the United States.�

���� b.��� The Governor is
respectfully requested to annually issue a proclamation calling on public
officials and citizens of this State to observe �Transgender Awareness Month�
with appropriate activities and programs.

���� 2.��� This joint resolution
shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This joint resolution
designates November of each year as �Transgender Awareness Month� in the State
of New Jersey, and respectfully calls on the Governor to annually issue a
proclamation calling on public officials and citizens of this State to observe �Transgender
Awareness Month� with appropriate activities and programs.

���� Transgender individuals, who
are people whose gender identity, expression, or behavior is different from
those typically associated with the individual�s assigned sex at birth, face
considerable challenges in society, including discrimination, harassment,
physical abuse, and social isolation.�

���� In the face of a sharp
increase in anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation being introduced nationwide, with
numerous bills seeking to limit access to health care, housing, education, and
free expression for transgender individuals and transgender youth in
particular, the Legislature finds it fitting and appropriate to increase
awareness and understanding of the prejudice, discrimination, and violence that
transgender persons face, as well as to recognize the beauty, strength, and
resilience of the transgender community and the myriad contributions
transgender individuals make to the life, culture, and social fabric of the
United States.