Councilmember Cheh Re-Introduces Bills to Address Temporary Firearm Relinquishment, Provide Leave for Voting, and Protect LGBT Seniors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2019
Communications Director: Kelly Whittier
Councilmember Cheh Re-Introduces Bills to Address Temporary Firearm Relinquishment, Provide Leave for Voting, and Protect LGBT Seniors
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, January 8th, at the first Legislative Meeting of Council Period 23, Councilmember Mary M. Cheh re-introduced a number of bills which were introduced but did not pass in the previous session. Summaries of those bills are provided below:
- Paid Leave to Vote Amendment Act of 2019: The District does not have any protections in place for residents who need to take leave in order to vote. Any number of factors, such as one’s commute, childcare or work requirements, or long lines from the morning or evening voter rush, can make it unnecessarily difficult for working residents to cast their ballot. This legislation would guarantee at least two hours of paid leave to eligible District voters in order to vote in any District-wide election. It will also make it unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny any attempt to exercise the right to take such leave, or to discriminate against a voter for taking leave to vote. Currently twenty states, including Maryland, New York, and Texas, have passed laws to guarantee paid leave to voters.
- Delegate Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2019: This legislation takes an innovative approach to gaining some degree of representation in Congress. The District currently has the authority to amend federal legislation that applies exclusively to the District and does so regularly with the federal “Traffic Act of 1925” when updating motor vehicle laws. Following that premise and existing authority, this bill would amend the federal “District of Columbia Delegate Act of 1970” to give the District’s on-voting Delegate to the United States House of Representatives the right to vote in the House on any matter that exclusively applies to local matters –such as House disapproval resolutions and funding repeal riders aimed at the District’s local affairs.
- Temporary Protection Order Firearm Relinquishment Amendment Act of 2019: This bill would require an individual subject to a temporary order to relinquish all firearms and prevents that individual from purchasing a firearm. It would put the District in line with over a dozen other states that either allow or require the relinquishment of guns during a temporary order. The Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University found that the presence of guns in the home is associated with a 3-fold increased homicide risk within the home than in homes without guns. When previous domestic violence has occurred in the home, the risk of homicide is 20 times higher and this legislation would provide a greater degree of safety to those escaping domestic violence.
- Elephant Ivory and Rhinoceros Horns Trafficking Prohibition Act of 2019: After China, the United States fosters one of the largest ivory markets in the world and in 2017 the National Geographic identified the District of Columbia as the country’s new hub for ivory sales. Originally introduced in 2015, this bill targets the newly expanded local market by banning the import, sale, offer for sale, purchase, barter, or possession (with intent to sell) of ivory and rhinoceros horns in the District. It includes exemptions for certain antiques and musical instruments, as well as for transfers to bona fide scientific or educational institutions and to beneficiaries of an estate.
- False Claims Amendment Act of 2019: This bill would allow the District to use the tools of the “False Claims Act” to recover damages against the District’s biggest tax evaders (those individuals or entities who cause damages of $350,000 or more and who have a net income of $1 million or more) and make whistleblowers eligible to receive a reward for providing information that helps the District identify and prosecute those big tax evaders.
- Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Insurance Discrimination Amendment Act of 2019: Pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, is a safe and effective drug that provides a 92-99% reduction in HIV risk when taken daily. District health care providers regularly prescribe it to their patients, many of whom are a part of the LGBTQ community, who may be at risk for HIV transmission. Insurance companies have increasingly denied customers life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care insurance on the basis of PrEP use –effectively categorizing PrEP users as “high-risk” when they are proactively protecting themselves against HIV transmission. This bill would prohibit insurance companies from factoring the use of PrEP in decisions related to the aforementioned insurance policies.
- Care for LGBTQ Seniors and Seniors with HIV Amendment Act of 2019: Many LGBTQ seniors and seniors with HIV report having been subjected to institutionalized discrimination when accessing health care and social services, making them statistically less likely to seek out medical or palliative care. The District’s “Human Rights Act” does not currently provide protections to LGBTQ seniors or seniors with HIV who are living in long-term care. This legislation establishes a “Bill or Rights” for seniors living in these facilities, ensuring that they are treated respectfully and appropriately, and mandates cultural competency training for caregivers in long-term care facilities. In addition, the legislation would define LGBTQ seniors and seniors with HIV as a group of “greatest social need,” a designation that will enable the District to access federal funding under the “Older Americans Act” to provide programming to this community.
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