[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




25TH ANNIVERSARY OF GAY AND LESBIAN ACTIVIST ALLIANCE OF WASHINGTON, DC

                                 ______


                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 16, 1996

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, Tuesday, April 16, 1996, marks the 25th 
anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance [GLAA]. GLAA is 
the oldest consistently active lesbian and gay political and civil 
rights organization in the United States. I am proud to represent GLAA 
in Congress and to count its members among my friends.
  Since its founding in 1971, GLAA has remained a nonpartisan 
organization and a consistent force advocating the civil and political 
rights of the lesbian and gay people in Washington, DC, and across the 
Nation. GLAA has played a pivotal role in establishing a ban on 
discrimination against lesbian and gay public schoolteachers in 
Washington, DC, the first in the Nation. Its efforts helped lead to the 
passage of DC's Human Rights Act, the founding of the Civilian 
Complaint Review Board, the reform of the District's sodomy statute, 
and the enactment of DC's domestic partnership law.
  GLAA's work with elected officials in Washington, DC, has resulted in 
more effective AIDS prevention programs targeted to the public schools, 
to the prisons, to the homeless, and to underserved populations in the 
Nation's Capital. The alliance's tireless advocacy on behalf of persons 
living with AIDS increased local funding for AIDS services and 
programs.
  I hope my fellow Members will join me in congratulating the Gay and 
Lesbian Activist Alliance on its 25th anniversary. I wish them every 
success in their future endeavors.

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