January 8, 2019 - Montgomery County, MD – The LGBTQ Democrats of Montgomery County today announced its legislative priorities for 2019 addressing key issues affecting the LGBTQ community. Members of the club met last week with over a dozen elected officials and representatives of the Montgomery County Democratic State Legislative group prior to the new legislative session.  
 
The Advocacy Committee identified 5 concrete policy and advocacy goals to pursue in 2019:
 

• Changing outdated and exclusive ID and name-change laws, which unduly burden trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming (GNC) people
• Fully funding the Ending Youth Homelessness Act as youth homelessness disproportionately affects LGBTQ youth
• Pursue legislative and administrative solutions that identify non-acceptance of LGBTQ children as abuse paired with safe, sustainable housing for children impacted by abuse in the home
• Advocating for a remediation plan to get Maryland back on track with HIV/AIDS public health benchmarks
• Promoting and advocating for the rights of LGBTQ youth who may be kicked out of their homes or otherwise abused by intolerant parents and guardians

 
“Many people wrongly believe that when voters in Maryland passed marriage equality in 2012 that the big issues affecting our LGBTQ community had been solved,” said Michael Knaapen, president of the LGBTQ Democrats of Montgomery County. “Our trans siblings are struggling without key legal protections and adequate healthcare services. Over 46% of our LGBTQ youth run away due to discrimination from their families yet risk being placed back in those very same homes. Maryland is falling behind its 2020 benchmarks to improve HIV health outcomes as HIV infection rates are increasing among gay men in Maryland. We look forward to working with state and local officials to address these serious issues affecting Montgomery County LGBTQ residents.”