IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1019 
Expressing support for the designation of May 2, 2022, as ‘‘Dr. John E. 
Fryer Day’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 31, 2022 
Mr. EVANS (for himself, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. SCAN-
LON, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. TORRES of New York, 
Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. 
TAKANO, and Mr. JONES) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of May 2, 2022, 
as ‘‘Dr. John E. Fryer Day’’. 
Whereas Dr. John E. Fryer practiced psychiatry in Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania, from 1967 to 2003, and was a pro-
fessor of psychiatry and family and community medicine 
at Temple University School of Medicine; 
Whereas, beginning in 1952, the American Psychiatric Asso-
ciation (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘APA’’) clas-
sified homosexuality as a mental disorder in the Diag-
nostic and Statistical Manual (referred to in this pre-
amble as the ‘‘DSM’’) and in the revised DSM–II; 
Whereas, as a result of the classification and resulting thera-
peutic protocol, homosexuals in the United States were 
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subject to chemical castration, electric shock therapy, 
mental institutionalization, and lobotomies; 
Whereas the classification was used to demonize homosexuals 
and other non-heterosexuals as perverts to be feared and 
loathed and to buttress homophobic statutes and regula-
tions; 
Whereas many States would not grant professional licenses to 
known homosexuals and would revoke licenses from indi-
viduals who were later found to be homosexual; 
Whereas, in 1971, gay rights pioneers Frank Kameny and 
Barbara Gittings successfully petitioned the APA for a 
panel on homosexuality at the APA annual meeting; 
Whereas Kameny and Gittings sought to have a gay psychia-
trist on the panel, but no one would risk losing their li-
cense and professional standing by admitting publicly to 
being homosexual; 
Whereas Dr. Fryer agreed to appear on the panel under the 
pseudonym of Dr. Henry Anonymous, while in a mask 
and using a voice modulator; 
Whereas Dr. Fryer’s testimony on May 2, 1972, at the APA 
annual meeting was so powerful that the APA undertook 
studies to determine whether the classification of homo-
sexuality as a mental illness was based on science or prej-
udice; 
Whereas, in 1973, after study and review, the members of 
the APA voted to declassify homosexuality as a mental 
illness; 
Whereas, as a result of Dr. John E. Fryer’s courage and ar-
ticulate presentation as the first psychiatrist in the 
United States to speak publicly about his homosexuality, 
the course of civil rights for individuals who are lesbian, 
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gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (referred to in this 
preamble as ‘‘LGBTQ’’) was seminally advanced; 
Whereas, during the human immunodeficiency virus and ac-
quired immunodeficiency syndrome (referred to in this 
preamble ‘‘HIV/AIDS’’) crisis, Dr. John Fryer was 
among the first, if not the first, psychiatrists to provide 
professional services to individuals with HIV/AIDS and 
individuals who had lost loved ones to HIV/AIDS; 
Whereas Dr. John Fryer’s contributions to the LGBTQ com-
munity have been adapted into the celebrated theater 
production entitled ‘‘217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anony-
mous’’ and the movie ‘‘CURED’’; 
Whereas the Philadelphia Historical Commission has des-
ignated the John. E. Fryer House at 138 West Walnut 
Lane, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as historic in the 
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places; 
Whereas the Philadelphia City Council proclaimed May 2, 
2022, as John Fryer Day in the city of Philadelphia to 
mark the 50th anniversary of his testimony on homosex-
uality at the 1972 APA annual meeting and to com-
memorate his momentous and seminal LGBTQ civil 
rights activism; and 
Whereas Dr. John Fryer is a civil rights hero and was des-
ignated by the Equality Forum as an LGBT History 
Month Icon in 2016: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses support for the designation of 
‘‘Dr. John E. Fryer Day’’; and 
(2) encourages the Federal Government, States, 
and localities to continue supporting the teaching of 
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lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (re-
ferred to in this resolution as ‘‘LGBTQ’’) history, 
including the contributions of Dr. John E. Fryer 
and other LGBTQ civil rights heroes. 
Æ 
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