Fighting For LGBTQ Rights in the Crime-Focused 2024 Legislative Session
The 2024 legislative session began this week with its customary pomp and circumstance. There was a buzz in the air among people eager to represent their communities and make meaningful investments of our state’s budget surplus to help New Mexicans for generations to come! EQNM, Planned Parenthood, ACLU, and New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Providers all showed up in force! I was invited to sit on the House of Representatives floor with Rep Kristina Ortez, Equality Champion, alongside commissioners from Taos County and other partner organizations. We were all very excited, especially to welcome the first LGBTQ-identifying representative to the Majority Caucus in the House - Representative Cristina Parajon!
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham began the session with her Tuesday State of the State address, focusing heavily on public safety, gun safety, and climate change measures. There was a lot of tough-on-crime talk in Santa Fe as the governor referenced dozens of bills that range from increased waiting periods to assault weapons bans. While LGBTQ folks are disproportionately impacted by violence, our community also knows that increased policing and jail time does not make us safer. EQNM will be here in the state capital for the duration of the session, working alongside our longtime partners like ACLU, Bold Futures NM, OLE NM, and the Southwest Women’s Law Center to ensure that LGBTQ New Mexicans and our allies will be represented, protected, and prioritized.
WINS
Paid Family Medical Leave
The Governor has prioritized the Paid Family Medical Leave Act House Bill (HB) 6, Senate Bill (SB) 3
The bill means that New Mexicans will be able to take time away from work to welcome a new child, face a serious health issue, or support a seriously ill family member. This includes gender-affirming healthcare!
Affirmative Consent on Campuses
The Governor has prioritized the Benjamin Higher Education Sexual Violence Prevention & Intervention Act HB151
The bill means that affirmative consent will be used as the standard when investigating misconduct on college campuses. This is critical because we no longer live in a no-means-no world. We have to make college students feel safe in knowing that only #YesMeansYes.
STAY TUNED
We will continue to update the EQNM community each week of the legislative session here on our news blog. Next week you can expect more detailed breakdowns of what the crime and gun bills will entail and where we stand, as well as the status of other bills. You can also keep up with developments and opportunities to take action daily on our social media channels.
Let’s pass paid family medical leave and campus sexual assault safety measures while working to make sure that proposed policies to address crime and gun safety don’t just result in more mass incarceration!