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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 8, 2021 09:44 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jessica Benham |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Resolution: Recognizing March 1, 2021, as Disability Day of Mourning |
| Over 600 individuals with disabilities were murdered by their parents or caregivers in the past five years, an average of two per week. Out of respect for those lives lost, the disability community gathers across the nation every year on March 1st to remember disabled victims of filicide. As a disabled person, I have noticed the pattern of news coverage: the media portrays these murders as justifiable due to the supposed burden of caring for a disabled person. If the parent stands trial, they are portrayed as sympathetic and given comparatively light sentences. The cycle of victim-blaming continues. Disabled people deserve to live in a world where our lives are treated as valuable, where systems of care are fully funded so that disabled people can live independently and trust their caregivers, and where our deaths are properly mourned as the tragic events they are instead of as inevitabilities. I want to also recognize and mourn the many deaths of people with disabilities due to COVID-19 and police brutality. These deaths, like those of victims of filicide, were preventable had the continued failures of our care systems and the intertwined systems of ableism, racism, and anti-blackness been confronted. Meaningful action to address the lethal consequences experienced by many people with disabilities is long overdue. For these reasons, I am introducing a resolution to recognize March 1st, 2021, as Disability Day of Mourning. It is my hope that a greater awareness of this issue will facilitate meaningful change. Please join me in taking this first, limited step in recognizing that the lives of people with disabilities are valued in this Commonwealth. |