[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 101 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1076-E1077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            LGBT PRIDE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 26, 2014

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my colleague 
from Wisconsin, Mr. Pocan for organizing this important special order 
to highlight LGBT Pride Month. Thank you for your leadership as a Co-
Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and really on so many other issues 
affecting our underserved communities.
   Let me just say how proud I am to be a founding member and Vice 
Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus. Our Caucus is stronger than ever and 
is really beating the drum for equality, ending discrimination and 
violence, and promoting the health and well-being for LGBT people here 
in the U.S. and around the world.
   It makes me very proud to be here today during Pride Month as we 
commemorate the anniversary of last year's landmark Supreme Court 
decisions that struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and 
brought marriage equality back to my home state of California.
   These decisions were strong and decisive steps forward in the march 
towards full equality for all.
   Following those decisions, I had the privilege of officiating 
weddings for same-sex couples at Oakland City Hall--and let me tell 
you, they reflected the diversity of my district, the diversity of this 
country, and the diversity of the LGBT community.
   Across the nation, some 2.8 million African Americans, Latino 
Americans, and Asian and Pacific Islanders identify as LGBT.
   The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law has produced 
studies that provide us with critical data and analysis of these LGBT 
communities and their unique features, challenges, and needs.
   The full reports can be found at http://
williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/.

[[Page E1077]]

   One of the most striking disparities as we know for LGBT people of 
color is in HIV/AIDS rates. In 2010, African American gay and bisexual 
men between ages 13 and 24 accounted for more than twice as many new 
infections as their white or Latino peers.
   These numbers show clearly that as we close out the month of June 
with our celebration of Pride Month, we must not lose sight of the hard 
work that remains to be done, in this country and around the world. 
Discrimination, unemployment, and even physical violence continue to be 
the daily reality for far too many LGBT people and it needs to stop.
   Congress needs to act. We must pass ENDA, SNDA, my bill, the REPEAL 
HIV Discrimination Act, and other critical pieces of legislation that 
create real protections for LGBT people and full equality under the 
law.
   I close by reiterating how proud I am to represent a district with a 
strong and diverse LGBT community and join my LGBT Equality Caucus 
colleagues in staying the course and fighting for what's right.

                          ____________________