Text of US HR 416 (2014)

IV 113TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 416 Encouraging the celebration of the month of June as LGBT Pride Month. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 15, 2013 Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. CHU, Mr. HONDA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. HANNA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. CLARKE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Encouraging the celebration of the month of June as LGBT Pride Month. Whereas the Honorable Barney Frank, Member of Congress from 1981 to 2013, is recognized as an honorary cospon- sor of this resolution; Whereas Members of this Congress support the rights, free- doms, and equality of those who are lesbian, gay, bisex- ual, and transgender (LGBT); Whereas those who took a stand for human rights and dig- nity at the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 1969 are among the pioneers within this movement; VerDate Mar 15 2010 20:36 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR416.IH HR416 sroberts on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 416 IH Whereas the LGBT Stonewall protestors were subject to po- lice harassment and invidious discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; Whereas this decisive moment in history was followed by the creation of gay rights organizations in every major city in the United States within two years of the Stonewall uprising; Whereas the Stonewall uprising has been followed by many positive progressive historic moments; Whereas in December of 1973, the board of the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses; Whereas in 1974, Elaine Noble became the first openly LGBT candidate elected to a state legislature in the United States when she won a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives; Whereas in 1975, the Civil Service Commission eliminated the ban on the employment of homosexuals in most Fed- eral jobs; Whereas on January 8, 1978, Harvey Milk made national news when he was sworn in as an openly gay member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; Whereas in October of 1979, 75,000 people participated in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights to demand equal civil rights; Whereas in 1980, Democrats took a stance in support of gay rights at the Democratic National Convention; Whereas in October of 1987, thousands of activists took part in the National March on Washington to demand that President Reagan address the AIDS crisis; VerDate Mar 15 2010 20:36 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR416.IH HR416 sroberts on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 416 IH Whereas in 1987, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachu- setts became the first Representative to voluntarily come out as an openly gay Member of Congress; Whereas in May of 1996, in Romer v. Evans, the United States Supreme Court decided that a Colorado constitu- tional amendment preventing the enactment of protec- tions for gays and lesbians in that State was unconstitu- tional; Whereas at the turn of the century in 2000, Vermont became the first State in the country to legally recognize civil unions between gay and lesbian couples; Whereas on June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Lawrence v. Texas, that under the 14th Amendment, States could not criminalize the private, in- timate relationships of same-sex couples; Whereas on October 28, 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. The bill expanded existing Federal hate crimes laws to include crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability; Whereas in December of 2010, Congress approved and Presi- dent Obama signed the repeal of the ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ law, allowing gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces; Whereas the year 2012 marked the first year that all 50 States in the United States had at least one openly LGBT elected official; Whereas on January 3, 2013, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was sworn in as the first openly gay United States Sen- ator; VerDate Mar 15 2010 20:36 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR416.IH HR416 sroberts on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 416 IH Whereas on June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in United States v. Windsor, that section three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was un- constitutional and that the Federal Government cannot discriminate against married lesbian and gay couples for the purposes of determining Federal benefits and protec- tions; and Whereas on November 13, 2013, Hawaii became the 15th State to grant same-sex marriage, joining Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Washington, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes that all Americans should be 2 treated fairly and equally regardless of sexual ori- 3 entation or gender identity; 4 (2) acknowledges the struggle of the Stonewall 5 protestors and countless other lesbian, gay, bisexual, 6 and transgender people for equality; 7 (3) encourages the celebration of LGBT Pride 8 Month to provide a continuing opportunity for all 9 people in the United States to learn about the dis- 10 crimination and inequality that has faced, and con- 11 tinues to face, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 12 transgender people; and 13 VerDate Mar 15 2010 20:36 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR416.IH HR416 sroberts on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 416 IH (4) agrees that the United States must continue 1 to strive to ensure that the promise of equality is re- 2 alized for all Americans. 3 Æ VerDate Mar 15 2010 20:36 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR416.IH HR416 sroberts on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS