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Whereas these uprisings have been followed by many historic 
milestones for the LGBTQ community; 
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 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 1982, Wisconsin became the first State to ban 
discrimination based on sexual orientation; 
Whereas, in 1983, after initial refusal from lead organizers 
to allow an openly LGBTQ person to speak, Audre Lorde 
was selected by Black LGBTQ groups to speak at the 
20th anniversary commemoration of Martin Luther King, 
Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington; 
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; 
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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 1988, Urvashi Vaid cofounded the Creating 
Change Conference, the largest annual LGBTQ con-
vening in the United States organized by the National 
LGBTQ Task Force; 
Whereas, on May 20, 1996, the Supreme Court of the United 
States decided, in Romer v. Evans, that a Colorado con-
stitutional amendment preventing the enactment of non-
discrimination protections for gay, lesbian, and bisexual 
people in that State was unconstitutional; 
Whereas, at the turn of the century in 2000, Vermont be-
came the first State in the country to legally recognize 
civil unions between same-sex couples; 
Whereas, on June 8, 2000, the Second Circuit Court of Ap-
peals ruled, in Rosa v. Parks, that a transgender person 
had recourse under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s 
prohibition on sex discrimination after being denied a 
loan for dressing in traditionally feminine attire; 
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 pri-
vate, intimate relationships of same-sex couples; 
Whereas, on August 5, 2004, the Sixth Circuit Court of Ap-
peals determined, in Smith v. City of Salem, that 
transgender employees are protected from workplace dis-
crimination under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964; 
Whereas, in 2008, a Latino transgender man Diego Miguel 
Sanchez became the first openly transgender individual to 
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be appointed to the Democratic National Committee’s 
Platform Committee; 
Whereas, on November 4, 2008, Stu Rasmussen of Silverton, 
Oregon, became the first openly transgender person to be 
elected mayor in the Nation; 
Whereas, in 2009, Diego Miguel Sanchez became the first 
openly transgender congressional senior staffer on Cap-
itol Hill, appointed by Representative Barney Frank; 
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, and the bill expanded existing Federal hate 
crimes laws to include crimes motivated by a victim’s ac-
tual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender iden-
tity, or disability; 
Whereas, on January 4, 2010, Mayor Annise D. Parker was 
sworn in as the first openly lesbian mayor of Houston, 
the largest city in the United States to have an openly 
LGBTQ mayor; 
Whereas, on November 2, 2010, Victoria Kolakowski was 
elected as the first openly transgender woman in Cali-
fornia to serve as a trial court judge for the Alameda 
County Superior Court; 
Whereas, on November 17, 2010, Phyllis Frye was appointed 
into the City of Houston Municipal Courts as the first 
openly transgender judge in Texas; 
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; 
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Whereas, in October of 2011, the Girl Scouts of America 
opened membership to a 7-year-old transgender girl; 
Whereas 2012 marked the first year that all 50 States in the 
United States had at least 1 openly LGBTQ elected offi-
cial; 
Whereas, on April 20, 2012, the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission ruled that discrimination based on 
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, a Japanese American, became the first openly 
gay person of color elected to Congress; 
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 was sworn in 
as the first openly bisexual Member of Congress; 
Whereas, on March 11, 2013, a transgender inclusive version 
of the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized; 
Whereas, on April 29, 2013, Jason Collins of the NBA be-
came the first active male athlete in a North American 
major sports league to come out as a gay Black man; 
Whereas, on June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the 
United States ruled, in United States v. Windsor, that 
section three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) 
was unconstitutional and that the Federal Government 
cannot discriminate against married lesbian and gay cou-
ples for the purposes of determining Federal rights, bene-
fits, and obligations; 
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Whereas, on November 20, 2013, President Obama post-
humously presented Bayard Rustin with a Presidential 
Medal of Freedom; 
Whereas, on June 9, 2014, Laverne Cox became the first 
openly transgender person on the cover of Time Maga-
zine; 
Whereas, on June 17, 2014, Darrin P. Gayles was the first 
openly gay African-American man to be confirmed as a 
Federal judge; 
Whereas, on July 10, 2014, Laverne Cox became the first 
openly transgender individual to be nominated for an 
Emmy Award; 
Whereas, on July 21, 2014, President Obama took action to 
protect LGBTQ 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, triathlete 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 servicemembers 
from harassment and discrimination based on sexual ori-
entation; 
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 Supreme Court of the 
United States in 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 recog-
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