A Day for Triple Remembrance

Today marks the Transgender Day of Remembrance, the National Survivors of Suicide Day, and National Adoption Day.

Three separate observances, perhaps, but I’m guessing most readers are already drawing connections.

Forty-one percent of transgender people in the U.S. have attempted suicide, according to a survey of more than 7,000 transgender people by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality. This compares to a national estimated rate of 1.6 percent. The survey also found that more than half of transgender and gender non-conforming people who were bullied, harassed or assaulted in school because of their gender identity have attempted suicide. And I’m sure I don’t need to tell readers here about the media attention given of late to the bullying-related suicides of LGBT youth and those perceived to be.

Let’s be clear, of course—the higher rates of suicide attempts among LGBT people isn’t because of anything inherent to being LGBT, but because of societal prejudices and pressures.

And while no state bans people from adopting because of their gender identity, biases exist that may still hinder the process. (HRC offers some tips for transgender people wanting to adopt.)

Not that it’s necessarily easy for any LGBT person to adopt against prejudices. And even though Florida recently overturned its ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians, Mississippi bans same-sex couples from doing so, and Arkansas, Michigan, and Utah ban unmarried couples (by definition, all same-sex couples in the state).

Let us use the day, however, not only to note the negatives, but to give thanks for the positives—the adoptive families that add to the varied tapestry of family life.

Whether you are honoring those lost, those who have survived, families created, or some combination of the three, may it be a day of both remembrance and hope for the future.