State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, speaks during debate on the Senate floor on S.3083, which creates an LGBT Youth and Young Adult Suicide Prevention Task Force. Submitted photo

Legislation creating an LGBTQ Youth and Young Adult Suicide Prevention Task Force is on its way to Gov. Kathy Hochul for approval.

Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and Dan Stec, R-Glens Falls, expressed their disappointment on the Senate floor over the task force’s membership, which does not include appointments by Republican leadership in the Senate and Assembly. The task force’s seven members will include one appointed by the governor, two by the Senate majority leader, two by the Assembly speaker and two by the Department of Health. Borrello took note of a similar task force on Latina suicide prevention created by S.2877 that included appointments by Republican leadership and asked Sen. Julia Salazar, D-Brooklyn, why her legislation didn’t give Republicans a seat on the task force. Stec, meanwhile, asked for the legislation to be laid aside and amended to include Republican representation on the panel, but his suggestion was dismissed.

“Madame President, I think absolutely this is an issue across our state, in New York,” Salazar said. “It is mentioned in the legislation that geography should be considered, that the seven memners of the task force should reflect the geographic diversity of our state and represent the geographical diversity of our state. I do feel this is not a partisan issue and that the majority leader, in making her two appointments, and likewise, the Assembly speaker, that they will certainly consider people regardless of their political party. There is nothing in the legislation that bars anyone based on their poltical party or whether they live in a rural area from participating or rather being appointed as a member of the task force. I certainly would encourage Sen. Borrello and any of my colleagues to offer those recommendations to be appointed.”

Borrello still voted in favor of the task force, as did the rest of the Senate, but the Sunset Bay Republican was still critical of the task force’s composition.

“Regardless of the intent, this bill doesn’t have any apopintments by the Republican minority,” Borrello said. “What does that say? What it says, quite frankly, whether it’s intended or not, is that this isn’t a problem for the millions of New Yorkers who are represented by a Republican member of the Senate or Assembly. But yet, it is. I can tell you that an LGBTQ youth growing up in a rural part of New York faces many challenges and does need help. A representative for someone in a unique siatuion like that should be, I think, required, yet we don’t have that opportunity to make that requirement. What it says is that task force is put together and Republicans don’t think this is a problem, this is not an issue. That is the message that is being sent. And that really is a sad message. Because the easiest thing to do is what the other bill did. and to give an appointment to each side for a topic that should not be partisan. Yet here we are with what is a fundamentally partisan task force.”

After Salazar, Stec and Borrello debated why the task force bill shouldn’t have partisan considerations, Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-New York City, brought up political statements around the country as a reason to create the task force. Chief among Hoylman’s reasons was the recent passage of legislation to forbid instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. It is expected to be signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The bill states: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Parents would be able to sue districts over violations.

“And that stigma, I would proffer, is going to lead students to bullying, depression and suicide,” Hoylman said. “In Texas the government is investigating parents who love and support their transgender children as child abusers. Parents shouldn’t be afraid to provide the guidance, care and support their children need and are asking for. And right here in New York there was a former governor who gave comments before a convention referring to the dilemma that transgender New Yorkers face in mocking their desire to be referred to by pronouns they are comfortable with, and we have a mayor who has appointed three well known homophobes to high levels of office in City Hall.”

One in six students nationwide (grades 9-12) seriously considered suicide in the past year. According to a 2018 report by the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10-14 (in 2018, 596 youths died by suicide) and ages 15-24 (in 2018, 6,211 youths died by suicide).

Lesbian, gay, or bisexual youth are five times more likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth. A study by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that 401 of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt and 921 of these individuals reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25.

Lesbian, gay, or bisexual youth are 8.4 times more likely to have attempted suicide when they came from highly rejecting families, compared to peers with no or low levels of family rejection.

Hoylman also criticized the state Senate for its past refusal to consider legislation proposed by the LGBTQ community from 2011 through 2018, when Democrats regained control of the Senate. Among the bills Senate Democrats wanted to pass under Republican control of the Senate was a proposal to collect demographic information on sexual orientation and gender identity by state agencies, legislation requiring insurers to cover HIV infection medication and legislation restoring state benefits to veterans dischargedother than honorably solely as a result of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

“So its no wonder that our kids are questioning their identity and I would argue that we all have to look at ourselves in this chamber, our past votes,” Hoylman said. “Don’t forget there were 10 years in this chamber of LGBTQ efforts that were blocked every step of the way. We even tried to get money in the budget for a hate crirmes memorial. That was blocked by my colleagues in this chamber. We have to look at ourselves and our actions. This task force is an important step forward to begin that analysis, but let us all urge and unite in supporting our LGBTQ youth.”

Borrello, for his part, said Republicans will send suggestions for appointments to the task force but said he would prefer to have the guarantee of a Republican appointment.

“For the mllions of New Yorkers we represent, I think that’s important,” he said. “I think if the sitaution was reversed, my friends on the other side of the aisle would be saying the exact same thing to us. This is a topic that touches every part of New York whether you come from a town with one street light or the metroplolis of New York City. This is an issue. This should not be a one-sided partisan task force. I’m voting yes because I think it’s important and perhaps somebody will reconsider, but in the end the unintended conserquence is what we have.”