[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 270 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 270

      Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2019

 Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Collins, 
   Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Markey, Mr. Casey, Ms. Harris, Mr. Murphy, Mr. 
    Bennet, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Booker, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Sanders, Mr. Coons, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Carper, Ms. 
  Hirono, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Cardin, Ms. 
 Hassan, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following resolution; which 
                      was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.

Whereas the Stonewall Inn opened on or around March 18, 1967, at 53 Christopher 
        Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City;
Whereas the neighborhood of Greenwich Village, and establishments like the 
        Stonewall Inn, served as a sanctuary for members of the lesbian, gay, 
        bisexual, transgender, and queer (referred to in this preamble as 
        ``LGBTQ'') community from persecution by police and society at large;
Whereas during the time around the opening of the Stonewall Inn, many State and 
        local governments, including New York City, criminalized how LGBTQ 
        individuals express their identities and relationships, which resulted 
        in LGBTQ individuals frequently being harassed by law enforcement, 
        including the New York City Police Department (referred to in this 
        preamble as the ``NYPD'');
Whereas LGBTQ individuals had begun to stand up to such police harassment, 
        including at Cooper Do-nuts in Los Angeles in 1959, Compton's Cafeteria 
        in San Francisco in 1966, and Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles in 1967;
Whereas, in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the NYPD raided the 
        Stonewall Inn and arrested many patrons;
Whereas brave individuals, particularly transgender women of color, stood up to 
        injustice the night of June 28, 1969, which sparked an uprising against 
        the NYPD, with confrontations and protests at the Stonewall Inn and the 
        surrounding area lasting until July 3, 1969;
Whereas the Stonewall uprising empowered thousands of LGBTQ individuals to 
        emerge from the shadows and come out publicly as they stood up for their 
        community the night of June 28, 1969 and beyond, putting their lives and 
        safety at risk;
Whereas, along with public protests in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, 
        Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, the 
        Stonewall uprising became a catalyst for the LGBTQ civil rights movement 
        to secure social and political equality and inspired the formation of 
        many advocacy organizations;
Whereas, on June 27-28, 1970, members of the LGBTQ community commemorated the 
        first anniversary of Stonewall and reaffirmed the solidarity of the 
        LGBTQ community by organizing the first Pride marches, or gatherings, in 
        New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles;
Whereas the Stonewall uprising is remembered and celebrated every year in June 
        during ``LGBTQ Pride Month'';
Whereas in June 2016 the Stonewall Inn and its surrounding area was declared a 
        national monument, becoming the first national monument to commemorate 
        the LGBTQ civil rights movement;
Whereas WorldPride will be held in June 2019 for the first time in the United 
        States in New York City to commemorate the Stonewall uprising, bringing 
        representatives of the global LGBTQ community to recognize these 
        historic events;
Whereas on May 30, 2019, New York City announced that it would dedicate a 
        monument honoring pioneering transgender activists and key leaders in 
        the Stonewall uprising, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, the first 
        permanent public monument in the world honoring transgender women;
Whereas on June 6, 2019, the NYPD officially apologized for the raid on the 
        Stonewall Inn;
Whereas, despite the progress made since the Stonewall uprising, members of the 
        LGBTQ community have experienced biased policing and are still at 
        significant risk of violence and discrimination;
Whereas, according to the annual hate crimes report published by the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation, LGBTQ individuals, particularly LGBTQ 
        individuals of color, continue to be the target of bias-motivated 
        violence, and efforts to address this violence may be hindered by a 
        continued lack of trust in law enforcement;
Whereas not less than 100 transgender individuals, primarily women of color, 
        have been murdered in the United States since the beginning of 2015; and
Whereas no individual in the United States should have to fear being the target 
        of violence because of who they are or who they love: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall 
        uprising;
            (2) condemns violence and discrimination against members of 
        the LGBTQ community and recommits itself to securing justice, 
        equality, and well-being for LGBTQ individuals; and
            (3) commends the bravery, solidarity, and resiliency of the 
        LGBTQ community in the face of violence and discrimination, 
        both past and present.
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