Text of US HR 550 (2025)

IV 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 550 Encouraging the celebration of the month of June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 26, 2025 Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. AMO, Ms. ANSARI, Ms. BALINT, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BELL, Mr. BERA, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. BYNUM, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. CASE, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mrs. CHERFILUS- MCCORMICK, Ms. CHU, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. COSTA, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. DEXTER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS of Pennsylvania, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. FOSTER, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. FROST, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GARCIA of California, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. HOYER, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. IVEY, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LATIMER, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. LEE of Ne- vada, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MAGAZINER, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCBRIDE, Mrs. MCCLAIN DELANEY, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. MCIVER, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MFUME, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OLSZEWSKI, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. SIMON, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. SOTO, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. STANTON, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. THOMPSON of Cali- fornia, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. TRAN, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WIL- LIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. TONKO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 550 IH RESOLUTION Encouraging the celebration of the month of June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. Whereas this resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Original LGBTQIA+ Pride Month Resolution of 2025’’; Whereas the Honorable Barney Frank, Member of Congress from 1981 to 2013, is recognized as an honorary cospon- sor of this resolution; Whereas Members of this Congress support the rights, free- doms, and equality of those who are lesbian, gay, bisex- ual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+); Whereas, in August of 1966, the ‘‘Screaming Queens’’ of the Gene Compton’s Cafeteria Uprising in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco led one of the first recorded transgender uprisings that erupted in response to police harassment, and continued to protest against police bru- tality and improper policing of the LGBTQIA+ commu- nity; Whereas those who took a stand for human rights and dig- nity at the Stonewall Inn Uprising in New York City on June 28, 1969, were led by two brave and visible transgender women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Syl- via Rivera; Whereas the LGBTQIA+ protesters at the Stonewall Inn Uprising and Gene Compton’s Cafeteria Uprising were subject to police harassment and invidious discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 550 IH Whereas, within years of these decisive moments in history, LGBTQIA+ rights organizations were created in every major city of the United States; Whereas Brenda Howard, often called ‘‘The Mother of Pride,’’ helped to plan a Gay Pride Week and the Chris- topher Street Liberation Day Parade in June of 1970 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Uprising; Whereas Brenda Howard’s Gay Pride Week and Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade evolved into the annual New York City Pride March and Pride celebrations are now known around the world; Whereas the Stonewall Inn Uprising and the Gene Compton’s Cafeteria Uprising have been followed by many historic milestones for the LGBTQIA+ community; Whereas, in December of 1973, the board of the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses of the American Psy- chiatric Association; Whereas, in 1974, Elaine Noble became the first openly LGBTQIA+ candidate elected to a State legislature in the United States when she won a seat in the Massachu- setts House of Representatives; Whereas, in 1975, the Civil Service Commission eliminated the ban on the employment of gay people in most Federal 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, on June 25, 1978, gay artist Gilbert Baker debuted a rainbow flag at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 550 IH and the flag was officially established as a symbol for LGBTQ pride in 1994; Whereas, in October of 1979, 75,000 people participated in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights to demand equal civil rights for LGBTQIA+ peo- ple; Whereas, in 1982, Wisconsin became the first State to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; Whereas, in 1983, after initial refusal from lead organizers to allow an openly LGBTQIA+ person to speak, Audre Lorde was selected by Black LGBTQIA+ groups to speak at the 20th-anniversary commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963; Whereas, in 1987, Representative Barney Frank of Massa- chusetts became the first United States Representative to voluntarily come out as an openly gay Member of Con- gress; Whereas Urvashi Vaid cofounded the Creating Change Con- ference in 1988, the largest annual LGBTQIA+ con- ference convening in the United States; Whereas, in 1991, Monica Helms designed the transgender flag and introduced it at the 2000 Phoenix Pride parade to represent the rights and diversity of transgender peo- ple; Whereas, on April 25, 1993, more than a million people took part in the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, one of the largest pro- tests in United States history; Whereas, on October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay stu- dent at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, tortured, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 550 IH and left to die, drawing attention to sexual-orientation re- lated hate crimes and ultimately to the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009; Whereas, on November 28, 1998, Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman, was brutally murdered in her home, sparking the advent of Transgender Day of Remem- brance, which is observed every year on November 20th to remember those who have been killed due to transphobia; Whereas, in 2002, David Cicilline was elected mayor of Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and became the first openly gay mayor of a State capital; Whereas, on June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Lawrence v. Texas that under the 14th Amendment, States could not criminalize the pri- vate, intimate relationships of same-sex couples; Whereas, in 2008, a Latino transgender man, Diego Miguel Sanchez, became the first openly transgender person ap- pointed to the Platform Committee of the Democratic National Committee; Whereas, on November 4, 2008, Stu Rasmussen of Silverton, Oregon, became the first openly transgender person to be elected mayor in the United States; 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 Barack Obama, expanding existing Federal hate crimes laws to include crimes motivated by the actual or per- ceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or dis- ability of a victim; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HRES 550 IH Whereas, on November 17, 2010, Phyllis Frye was appointed to the City of Houston Municipal Courts as the first openly transgender judge appointed in the United States; Whereas Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the repeal of Defense Directive 1304.26 (‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’) in December of 2010, allowing gay, les- bian, and bisexual persons to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces; Whereas, in October of 2011, the Girl Scouts of America opened membership to a 7-year-old transgender girl; Whereas, in December of 2011, Lane Lewis became the first gay man elected County Chair of the Democratic Party of Harris County, the third largest county in the United States; Whereas, on April 20, 2012, the Equal Employment Oppor- tunity Commission ruled that discrimination on the basis of gender identity is ‘‘sex discrimination’’ for purposes of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Whereas, on November 6, 2012, Representative Mark Takano of California, a Japanese American, became the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress; Whereas, in 2013, the first LGBTQ Pride Month resolution was introduced by Representative Al Green of Texas; Whereas, on January 3, 2013, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was sworn in as the first openly gay United States Sen- ator; Whereas, on January 3, 2013, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona was sworn in as the first openly bisexual Member of Con- gress; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HRES 550 IH Whereas, on March 7, 2013, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was reauthorized and included protections for transgender persons; Whereas, on June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court held in United States v. Windsor that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional and that the Fed- eral Government cannot discriminate against married same-sex couples when determining Federal rights, bene- fits, and obligations; Whereas, on November 20, 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom to civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, an openly gay Black man who organized the March on Washington in 1963 and presented the crucial 10 demands of the March on Washington in the summer of 1963; Whereas, on June 17, 2014, Darrin P. Gayles was the first openly gay Black man to be confirmed as a Federal judge; Whereas, on July 21, 2014, President Barack Obama took action to protect LGBTQIA+ workers by signing an Ex- ecutive order prohibiting Federal contractors from dis- criminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; Whereas, on June 8, 2015, Olympic triathlete Chris Mosier became the first transgender athlete to earn a spot on Team USA; Whereas, on June 9, 2015, the equal opportunity policy of the United States Armed Forces was updated to protect servicemembers from harassment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HRES 550 IH Whereas, on June 23, 2015, Stonewall Inn in New York City received a landmark designation by the Landmarks Pres- ervation Commission of New York City so that the Stone- wall Inn cannot be torn down or developed without ap- proval; Whereas, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges held in a 5–4 ruling that the 14th Amendment requires all States to license marriages between same-sex couples and to recognize all marriages that were lawfully performed in a different State; Whereas, on July 17, 2015, the Equal Employment Oppor- tunity Commission ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is ‘‘sex discrimination’’ for purposes of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Whereas, since the 114th Congress, the Equality Act has been introduced every Congress, first by Representative David Cicilline and most recently by Representative Mark Takano, to amend the Nation’s Federal civil rights laws to explicitly include sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics among the prohibited categories of discrimination in employment, housing, credit, edu- cation, public accommodation, federally funded programs, and jury service; it passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support in both the 116th and 117th Congresses; Whereas the American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking 575 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills that have been intro- duced in State legislatures across the United States thus far in 2025; Whereas, in February of 2016, the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce launched, becoming one of the VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HRES 550 IH leading economic voices in the greater Houston region fo- cusing on economic empowerment and inclusion for LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs and professionals; Whereas, on May 13, 2016, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education jointly released guidance to provide educators the information they need to ensure that transgender students attend school in an environ- ment free from discrimination on the basis of sex; Whereas, on May 18, 2016, Eric Fanning was sworn in as Secretary of the Army, the first time a branch of the United States Armed Forces was led by an openly gay person; Whereas members of the LGBTQIA+ community are dis- proportionately affected by violence, including fatal vio- lence with guns, intimate partner violence, and hate crimes; Whereas, on June 12, 2016, one of the deadliest mass shoot- ings in the modern history of the United States occurred at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida, on Latin night, leaving 49 people dead and another 53 people wounded; Whereas, between 2013 and 2024, nearly 70 percent of known fatal violent activities toward transgender and gender-nonconforming people have involved a gun; Whereas, more than 42 percent of transgender adults report having attempted suicide in their lifetime; Whereas, according to a 2020 systematic review, transgender people are 1.7 times more likely to experience some form of intimate partner violence compared to cisgender peo- ple, and 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual inti- mate partner violence; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HRES 550 IH Whereas LGBTQIA+ people are 5 times more likely than non-LGBTQIA+ people to be victims of violent hate crimes; Whereas LGBTQIA+ youth experience dating violence at rates significantly higher than their non-LGBTQIA+ peers; Whereas, on June 30, 2016, the Department of Defense an- nounced an immediate policy change allowing transgender servicemembers to serve openly without fear of retribution or penalty; Whereas, on July 28, 2016, Sarah McBride, national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, spoke at the Democratic National Convention, making her the first transgender person to address a major party convention; Whereas, on November 8, 2016, Kate Brown of Oregon be- came the first openly bisexual person to win a guber- natorial election; Whereas, on January 30, 2017, the Boy Scouts of America announced that they would open membership to transgender boys; Whereas, on June 27, 2017, residents of the District of Co- lumbia became the first in the United States to be al- lowed to select a gender-neutral option on their driver’s license; Whereas, on November 7, 2017, the election of Andrea Jen- kins to the Minneapolis City Council made her the first openly transgender woman to be elected to public office in a major United States city; Whereas, on November 7, 2017, Phillipe Cunningham’s elec- tion to the Minneapolis City Council made him the first VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HRES 550 IH openly transgender man to be elected to the city council of a major United States city; Whereas, on November 7, 2017, Danica Roem of Virginia be- came the first openly transgender person to be elected to and seated in a State legislature; Whereas, on November 6, 2018, Democratic Representative Jared Polis was elected Governor of Colorado, becoming the first openly gay man to be elected Governor in the United States; Whereas, in April of 2019, Morehouse College announced that the historically all-male school would begin admit- ting transgender men in 2020; Whereas, on May 20, 2019, Lori Lightfoot was sworn in as mayor of Chicago, becoming the first Black lesbian mayor; Whereas, on May 24, 2019, Taiwan became the first nation in Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage; Whereas, on June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court held that title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, also applies to sexual orientation and gender identity, and President Joe Biden took steps to enforce all sex nondiscrimination laws to prohibit anti-LGBTQIA+ discrimination; Whereas, in November of 2020, Representatives Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones, both Members of Congress representing New York districts, became the first openly gay Black persons elected to Congress; Whereas, on March 24, 2021, Admiral Rachel Levine became the first openly transgender person to hold an office re- quiring confirmation by the Senate, and on October 19, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HRES 550 IH 2021, became the first openly transgender four-star offi- cer in the uniformed services; Whereas, on May 16, 2022, Karine Jean-Pierre became the first openly lesbian African American White House Press Secretary; Whereas, on January 2, 2023, Zooey Zephyr became the first openly trans woman to serve in the Montana State legis- lature and was later barred from the Montana House floor after her comments rebuking proposed legislation that would ban gender-affirming care for children; Whereas, on October 1, 2023, Laphonza Butler was ap- pointed to the United States Senate, becoming the first openly lesbian Black Senator; Whereas, on February 8, 2024, Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old Indigenous TNB+ (transgender and nonbinary) student in Oklahoma, died following a physical altercation in school that resulted in hospitalization; Whereas, on January 3, 2025, Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender Member of Congress, making her the highest ranking openly transgender public official in United States history; and Whereas the inclusion and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ per- sons in the United States continues to expand, with an understanding that United States citizens will remain steadfast in pursuing the goal of complete equality and respect for all, regardless of whom they love or who they are: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes that lesbian, gay, bisexual, 2 transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual 3 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HRES 550 IH (LGBTQIA+) rights are human rights and are pro- 1 tected by the Constitution; 2 (2) recognizes that all United States citizens 3 should be treated fairly and equally regardless of 4 sexual orientation, sex characteristics, or gender 5 identity and that LGBTQIA+ history plays an inte- 6 gral role in the history of the United States; 7 (3) acknowledges the struggle of the Stonewall 8 Inn and Gene Compton’s Cafeteria protesters and 9 countless other lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, 10 queer, intersex, and asexual people for equality; 11 (4) encourages the celebration of LGBTQIA+ 12 Pride Month to provide a continuing opportunity for 13 all people in the United States to learn about the 14 discrimination and inequality that lesbian, gay, bi- 15 sexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual 16 people have faced, and continue to face, in tandem 17 with triumphs over tragedy and victories in spite of 18 barriers; and 19 (5) agrees that the United States must continue 20 to strive to ensure that the promise of equality is re- 21 alized for all people of the United States. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB