IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 772 

Encouraging the celebration of the month of June as LGBTQ Pride Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2016 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. 

MCCOLLUM, Mr. POCAN, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. POLIS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, 

Mr. TAKANO, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Encouraging the celebration of the month of June as 

LGBTQ Pride Month. 

Whereas this resolution shall be cited as the Original LGBTQ 

Pride Month Resolution of 2016; 

Whereas the Honorable Barney Frank, Member of Congress 

from 1981 to 2013, is recognized as an honorary cosponsor of this resolution; 

Whereas Members of this Congress support the rights, freedoms, and equality of those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ); 

Whereas those who took a stand for human rights and dignity at the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 

1969, are among the pioneers within this movement; 


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Whereas the LGBTQ Stonewall protestors were subject to 

police 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 

LGBTQ 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 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 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 1987, thousands of activists took part in 

the National March on Washington to demand that 

President Reagan address the AIDS crisis; 


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Whereas in 1987, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts 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 constitutional amendment preventing the enactment of protections for gays and lesbians in that State was unconstitutional; 

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, intimate 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; 

Whereas 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, on January 4, 2010, Mayor Annise D. Parker was 

sworn in as Houston’s first openly gay mayor; 

Whereas in December of 2010, Congress approved and President 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 

LGBTQ elected official; 


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Whereas, on January 3, 2013, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin 

was sworn in as the first openly gay United States Senator; 

Whereas, on June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme 

Court ruled, in United States v. Windsor, that section 3 

of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional and that the Federal Government cannot discriminate against married lesbian and gay couples for the purposes of determining Federal benefits and protections; 

Whereas, on July 21, 2014, President Obama took action to 

protect LGBT workers by signing an Executive order 

prohibiting Federal contractors from discriminating on 

the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; 

Whereas, on June 8, 2015, Triathelete Chris Moiser became 

the first transgender athlete to earn a spot on the United 

States national team; 

Whereas, on June 9, 2015, the United States military’s equal 

opportunity policy was updated to protect LGBT service 

men and women from harassment and discrimination; 

Whereas, on June 23, 2015, New York City’s Stonewall Inn 

received a landmark designation by the city’s Landmarks 

Preservation Commission so that the bar cannot be torn 

down or developed without approval; 

Whereas, on June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme 

Court in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges decided by a 

vote of 5–4 that the 14th amendment requires all States 

to license marriages between same-sex couples and to recognize all marriages that were lawfully performed out of 

State; 

Whereas, on July 2015, the Equality Act was introduced on 

July 23, 2015, by Congressman David Cicilline with biVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Jun 09, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR772.IH HR772

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partisan support, as the first comprehensive civil rights 

bill, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among 

the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation 

in places of public accommodation; 

Whereas, on July 17, 2015, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rules that discrimination 

based on sexual orientation is ‘‘sex discrimination’’ as 

outlined in title VII of the Civil Rights Act; 

Whereas, on October 31, 2015, the Obama administration 

announced that it would approve the spouses of refugees 

who are approved for resettlement in the United States, 

even gay spouses who come from countries where legal 

unions are not possible; 

Whereas, on November 10, 2015, President Obama is named 

Out Magazine’s ‘‘Ally of the Year’’ and is the first sitting 

President featured on the cover of a national LGBT news 

and entertainment periodical; 

Whereas, on December 21, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration shortened the lifetime ban that was enacted in 

1983 to allow some blood donations by gay men; 

Whereas in the first 10 weeks of 2016, according to a 

Human Rights Campaign tally, more than 200 bills 

across 34 States were introduced that are considered 

anti-LGBT, the threat on the civil liberties of LGBT people has increased on the State level since the Supreme 

Court ruling on marriage equality; 

Whereas, on May 13, 2016, the U.S. Departments of Justice 

and Education released joint guidance to help provide 

educators the information they need to ensure that all 

students, including transgender students, can attend 


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school in an environment free from discrimination based 

on sex; 

Whereas, on May 18, 2016, Eric Fanning was sworn in as 

the first openly gay Secretary of the Army, marking the 

first time a branch of the military is led by an openly gay 

person; and 

Whereas the inclusion of our transgender brothers and sisters 

into United States society continues to expand every day, 

with an understanding that we will remain steadfast in 

pursuing the goal of complete equality, respect, and tolerance for all, regardless of the gender a person is assigned 

at birth: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Original 

4 LGBTQ Pride Month Resolution of 2016’’. 

5 SEC. 2. ENCOURAGING THE CELEBRATION OF THE MONTH 

6 OF JUNE AS LGBTQ PRIDE MONTH. 

7 That— 

8 (1) it is the sense of the House of Representa9 tives that— 

10 (A) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

11 queer (LGBTQ) rights are human rights to be 

12 recognized and protected by the United States 

13 Constitution; and 

14 (B) the United States should continue to 

15 strive to ensure that the promise of equality is 

16 realized for all people in the United States; and 


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1 (2) the House of Representatives— 

2 (A) recognizes that all people in the United 

3 States should be treated fairly and equally re4 gardless of sexual orientation or gender iden5 tity; 

6 (B) acknowledges the struggle of the 

7 Stonewall protestors and countless other 

8 LGBTQ people for equality; and 

9 (C) encourages the celebration of LGBTQ 

10 Pride Month to provide a continuing oppor11 tunity for all people in the United States to 

12 learn about the discrimination and inequality 

13 that has faced, and continues to face, LGBTQ 

14 people. 

Æ 


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