•HRES 972 IH 
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; 
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 co-founded 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 became 
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 
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•HRES 972 IH 
transgender employees are protected from workplace dis-
crimination under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964; 
Whereas in 2008, Latino trans man Diego Miguel Sanchez 
became the first openly transgender individual to be ap-
pointed to the Democratic National Committee’s Plat-
form 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. 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 the first openly lesbian mayor of Houston, 
and the largest city in the United States to have an open-
ly 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; 
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•HRES 972 IH 
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 in October of 2011, The Girl Scouts of America 
opened membership to a seven-year-old transgender girl; 
Whereas 2012 marked the first year that all 50 States in the 
United States had at least one openly LGBTQ elected of-
ficial; 
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, Rep. Mark Takano, a Japa-
nese 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 
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•HRES 972 IH 
cannot discriminate against married lesbian and gay cou-
ples for the purposes of determining Federal rights, bene-
fits, and obligations; 
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 service mem-
bers from harassment and discrimination based on sexual 
orientation; 
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; 
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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-
nize all marriages that were lawfully performed out-of- 
State; 
Whereas, on July 23, 2015, H.R. 3185, with the short title 
of the Equality Act, was introduced in the 114th Con-
gress by Rep. David Cicilline with bipartisan support, 
which amends the Nation’s Federal civil rights laws to 
explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity 
among the prohibited categories of discrimination in em-
ployment, housing, credit, education, public accommoda-
tion, federally funded programs, and jury service; 
Whereas, on July 17, 2015, the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission ruled that discrimination based on 
sexual orientation is ‘‘sex discrimination’’ for purposes of 
title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 
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, 
including same-sex spouses who come from countries 
where legal unions are not possible; 
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-LGBTQ, and the threat to the civil liberties of 
LGBTQ people has increased on the State level since the 
Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality; 
Whereas, on May 13, 2016, the Departments of Justice and 
Education released joint guidance to help provide edu-
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•HRES 972 IH 
cators the information they need to ensure that 
transgender students attend school in an environment 
free from discrimination based on sex; 
Whereas, on May 18, 2016, Eric Fanning was sworn in as 
Secretary of the Army, marking the first time a branch 
of the military was led by an openly gay person; 
Whereas, on June 30, 2016, the Department of Defense an-
nounced an immediate policy change allowing transgen-
der service members to serve openly without fear of ret-
ribution; 
Whereas, on July 5, 2016, the National Congress of Parents 
and Teachers, known as the National PTA, adopted a 
resolution on the Recognition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, 
Transgender, and Queer/Questioning as a protected class; 
Whereas, on July 28, 2016, Human Rights Campaign na-
tional press secretary Sarah McBride spoke at the Demo-
cratic National Convention, making her the first 
transgender person to address a major party convention; 
Whereas, on June 24, 2016, President Obama designated the 
first national monument to LGBTQ rights at the site of 
the Stonewall uprising; 
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 April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Ap-
peals ruled, in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, 
that lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees are protected 
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•HRES 972 IH 
from workplace discrimination under title VII of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964; 
Whereas, on June 27, 2017, residents of the District of Co-
lumbia became the first in the Nation to be allowed to 
select a gender-neutral option on their driver’s license; 
Whereas, on November 7, 2017, Andrea Jenkins’ election to 
the Minneapolis City Council made her the first openly 
transgender woman to win 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 
openly transgender man to win a seat on the city council 
of a major United States city; 
Whereas the election of Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe 
Cunningham made them the only openly transgender peo-
ple of color currently serving in public office anywhere in 
the Nation; 
Whereas, on November 7, 2017, Danica Roem of Virginia be-
came the first openly transgender person to win a seat 
in a State legislature; 
Whereas, on March 4, 2018, Daniela Vega became the first 
openly transgender person to present at the Academy 
Awards; 
Whereas, on June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United 
States reaffirmed in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado 
Civil Rights Commission that businesses do not have a 
broad license to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans; 
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 
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•HRES 972 IH 
pursuing the goal of complete equality, respect, and toler-
ance for all, regardless of the gender a person is assigned 
at birth: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes that lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are human 
rights and are protected by the Constitution; 
(2) recognizes that all Americans should be 
treated fairly and equally regardless of sexual ori-
entation or gender identity; 
(3) acknowledges the struggle of the Stonewall 
and Compton’s Cafeteria protestors and countless 
other lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer 
people for equality; 
(4) encourages the celebration of LGBTQ Pride 
Month to provide a continuing opportunity for all 
people in the United States to learn about the dis-
crimination and inequality that has faced, and con-
tinues to face, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, 
and queer people; and 
(5) agrees that the United States must continue 
to strive to ensure that the promise of equality is re-
alized for all Americans. 
Æ 
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