[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 68 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE 30TH ANNUAL CAPITAL PRIDE FESTIVAL

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2005

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the 30th Annual 
Capital Pride Festival, a celebration of the National Capital Area's 
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender, GLBT communities, their 
families and friends.
  The Capital Pride Festival has grown from a small block party in 1975 
to the current week long celebration. This year Capital Pride 
culminates with the Pride Parade on June 12th and a street fair on 
Pennsylvania Avenue in the shadow of the Capitol.
  I have marched in the Pride parades since coming to Congress to 
emphasize the universality of human rights and the importance of 
enacting federal legislation to secure those rights for the GLBT 
community. Each year the Parade stops for a moment of silence to 
remember those who have died in the preceding year. That quiet will be 
particularly poignant as will remember local two women, who, in 
confronting injustice, were never silent: Wanda Alston and my frequent 
marching and running companion, Sister Maria, O.W., the Blue Nun.
  This year's theme of ``Honor Our Past, Fight for Our Future'' holds 
special meaning for the citizens of the District of Columbia and its 
GLBT community in particular. Eleven years ago the District of Columbia 
lost the first vote it ever won on the floor of the House of 
Representatives, the delegate vote in the Committee of the Whole. The 
Republicans retracted the District's vote when they assumed control of 
the House. Our city of nearly 600,000 residents, who pay more taxes per 
capita than 49 of the 50 states, remains the only jurisdiction in the 
United States subject to Taxation Without Representation. Our Nation's 
Capital is entitled to that vote on the House floor now and to our 
birthright as American Citizens of full voting representation in 
Congress.
  The joy of the Capital Pride Festival contrasts with the unhappy lot 
of GLBT soldiers who volunteer to protect our country with their lives, 
but must serve in silence and without the open support of their chosen 
families and communities, neither asking nor telling. The Armed Forces' 
homophobic policies, especially as they apply them to their own 
speakers of critical languages cannot continue to compromise our 
national security. Congress must pass The Military Readiness 
Enhancement Act of 2005 this session.

                          ____________________