[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 91 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H3655-H3658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CELEBRATING PRIDE MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Byrne). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson 
Coleman) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority 
leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to be here on the 
floor of the House this evening with my Congressional Progressive 
Caucus and LGBT Equality Caucus as we join millions of Americans around 
the country in celebrating Pride Month.
  Pride Month offers an opportunity to celebrate the incredible 
achievements of the LGBT community and the progress we have made toward 
a society that accepts LGBT Americans as equals. It is a chance to 
honor the trailblazers and leaders that have contributed so much to the 
lives of LGBT individuals worldwide. And it gives us the space to 
remind one another that we are all humans, deserving of dignity, 
acceptance, and equal treatment.
  The LGBT community, along with allies like myself, have fought to see 
the end of discriminatory laws and policies. We have applauded as 
society itself opens its arms. And we have watched as more and more 
LGBT ``firsts'' make their mark in public service, Hollywood, and every 
corner of our world.

                              {time}  2000

  From the Stonewall riots that set the stage for the pride 
celebrations that we have today, to the end of ``Don't Ask, Don't 
Tell'' in our Armed Forces, to the landmark Supreme Court decision in 
Obergefell v. Hodges, to the recent confirmation of the very first gay 
man to serve as Secretary of the Army, we have made clear, forward 
progress.
  But even as we celebrate the countless achievements of the past few 
years, we must also acknowledge the continuing uphill battle for LGBT 
equality. This year has seen a deeply painful wave of laws passed by 
State legislatures and aimed at legalizing blatant discrimination 
against the LGBT communities.
  There have been recent upticks in transgender violence and, just last 
week, a disgraceful move by a few Members on the other side of the 
aisle

[[Page H3656]]

to prevent the passage of an amendment that sought to prevent 
discrimination. That reminded us that we still have quite a bit of work 
to do.
  That is why my colleagues and I support legislation like the Student 
Non-Discrimination Act, or the Safe Schools Improvement Act, or the 
Equality Act. That is why I remain committed to making sure that we 
eliminate every form of discrimination in our society.
  Who you are and who you love shouldn't affect which jobs you are 
eligible for, who serves you in a restaurant, how much you make at 
work, or anything else about your life.
  In a Nation founded upon the principles of personal freedom and 
individual rights, the word ``equality'' carries great weight. It 
should mean equal treatment, respect, and access, regardless of race, 
gender, education, income, sexual orientation, with no exceptions. And 
as a LGBT ally, I am determined to make that vision a reality.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to present these few 
words on behalf of a community that has suffered so many discrimination 
attempts, so much disharmony, so many harmful experiences. Yet, this is 
a community of healthy, helpful, brilliant and introductory 
individuals.
  We must make sure that this society, our society, our House, this 
great America, stands firm for the equal opportunity of all people; 
that it should have nothing to do with who we love or what our gender 
identity is. It should be what do we have to offer to make our society 
a better and healthy one.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Al Green).
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding the time. I would like to thank the leadership for allowing 
the time. And, Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank my staff and the many 
members of the LGBT Caucus for helping us to produce H. Res. 772. This 
is the original LGBTQ Pride Month resolution, and I am very proud that 
persons have signed onto this resolution, so I want to thank all of the 
cosponsors, original cosponsors of the resolution.
  I am grateful that the President of the United States has recognized 
Pride Month. President Obama has taken quantum leaps forward in helping 
us to realize this notion that all persons are created equal and 
endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among 
them, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This is what Pride 
Month is really all about, these inalienable rights.
  I am proud to align myself and proud to call myself an ally of the 
LGBT community. I am an ally of this community for many reasons. I 
would like to just share a few.
  I have suffered invidious discrimination. I know what it is like to 
be decided as one who should stand in a different line. I know what it 
is like to be required to drink from the Colored water fountain. I know 
what it is like to be required to sit in a different area in a theater. 
I know what it is like to have to ride in a certain place on a bus.
  I have felt the sting of invidious discrimination, and my history 
dictates that I stand against invidious discrimination in any form 
against whomever. My history requires that I be where I am when it 
comes to helping others who are being discriminated against.
  So I am proud to have this resolution that we have presented, and I 
am proud to have presented it because there is still great work to be 
done. We still have 28 States that allow someone to be fired for being 
gay, lesbian, or bisexual. No one should be fired because of who you 
happen to be. Your performance should determine your position in a 
place of work.
  Unfortunately, in our country, we still have people who will look at 
someone and conclude that that person should not work in a certain 
position.
  Dr. King reminded us that it was the content of character that 
determines the worth of a people, not what they look like, not what you 
think they may have as a preference in life, the content of character.
  People should be judged upon their merits. They should ascend on 
merits, and they should fail on demerits, not what they look like or 
what you think their preferences are.
  Twenty-eight States still allow people to be fired based upon what 
someone thinks about their sexuality, or if they should happen to 
announce their sexuality. Thirty States still allow someone to be fired 
for being trans.
  How people behave, as long as they are obeying the law, should not be 
a means by which you can fire them. People have every right to be 
themselves.
  To all of those who are heterosexual, as am I, we should think about 
what it would be like for us to have to pretend to be something other 
than that we are. People ought not to have to pretend or hide their 
sexuality.
  I was very proud to see ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' fall because people 
ought to be able to ask and to tell who they are and what their 
preferences are. This ought not be something that we ought to, somehow, 
impose upon people as a shame. People should be proud of what God has 
made them to be, and they ought to be able to share that with the 
world. All persons created equal, endowed by their Creator, with 
certain inalienable rights; that includes people who happen to be a 
part of the LGBTQ community.
  We still have 28 States that don't include the protections for 
sexuality under housing discrimination laws; people just evicted 
because someone concludes something about their sexuality. You ought 
not be evicted because of discrimination related to your sexuality.
  There was a time in this country when females could not vote, a time 
when they couldn't own land, a time when they had to have a husband to 
acquire certain status in this country. But we have gone beyond that.
  We should get beyond this notion that people should not have fair and 
equality with reference to housing in the greatest country in the 
world. And I still say it is the greatest country in the world. I 
understand we have these problems, but I believe that people ought to 
receive housing based upon behavior, not based upon what you think of 
them.
  We still have, in this country, 30 States that lack housing 
protections for being trans. Again, what people think of you should not 
determine where you will be housed.

  I am proud that President Obama, as I indicated earlier, has helped 
us move forward in this area and in many other areas, because it was on 
his watch that the Supreme Court of the United States required that all 
States recognize same-sex marriages, and that they issue licenses to 
same-sex couples. This was a Supreme Court, but it was a Supreme Court 
that this President had an impact on.
  I am proud that, under this President, we have had the downing of 
DOMA, the notion that you can discriminate against same-sex couples 
with their benefits. This President has helped us move forward in areas 
that were taboo prior to his watch, and I believe that President Obama 
is going to be rewarded by history for his efforts to ensure that all 
persons are created equal. I am very proud that the Supreme Court has 
taken other steps to make sure that equality exists among people.
  But finally, as it relates to President Obama, let me just say that 
his latest effort to make sure that the military lives up to the 
standards that we believe should allow every person to serve in the 
capacity that they were born into is a remarkable one.
  I think his appointing Eric Fanning as the first Secretary of the 
Army, a person who is openly gay, was probably one of the most 
significant things that he has done because this is a means by which 
people relate to the country. People who serve in the military are held 
in high esteem. People who work with the military are held in high 
esteem. People who serve as Secretaries are held in high esteem, and I 
thank the President for this very bold and courageous move.
  So we are very proud to have this resolution on the floor recognizing 
Pride Month, and we do so because, in my opinion, every month ought to 
be Pride Month. We ought not have a single month that we do this. But 
until we can overcome some of these greater adversities that are yet to 
be dealt with, I think we have to continue to celebrate Pride Month.
  I am honored to do this tonight with my colleague, and I thank the 
gentlewoman for the time. I want to assure the gentlewoman that H. Res. 
772, the

[[Page H3657]]

original LGBTQ Pride Month resolution, while it will not pass this 
Congress, I want to assure the gentlewoman that, in our lifetimes, this 
resolution will pass a Congress of the United States of America because 
the Congress of the United States of America is metamorphosing. It, 
too, is coming to realize that we have to recognize the words of the 
Declaration of Independence; that all persons doesn't mean all people 
of a certain gender; doesn't mean all persons of a certain hue; doesn't 
mean all persons who happen to be from a certain place. It literally 
means what it says; all persons are created equal, and that all people 
are endowed by the Creator with these inalienable rights, and that we 
must bring the LGBTQ community within the purview of all that others 
enjoy and take for granted as a matter of course.
  I thank the gentlewoman for the time.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his 
eloquent and inspiring words and encouragement. And I, too, think that 
this is a metamorphosing body, and I just pray sooner than later.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko).
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for 
yielding. Thank you, Representative Watson Coleman, for leading us in 
this Special Order that is so significant.
  I stand with many in lending my voice on behalf of the LGBT community 
in the 20th Congressional District of New York, and across the map of 
New York for that matter, and across the Nation.
  We mark Pride Month each year as an opportunity to celebrate the 
steps that have been taken in the fight for justice, the fight for 
equality and civil rights for our friends and neighbors in the LGBTQ 
community.
  As we reflect on victories, I believe it is critical that we 
acknowledge the challenges before us; challenges like archaic bathroom 
laws that conjure up the ghosts of segregation and separate water 
fountains; challenges like that of Supreme Court Chief Justices who 
refuse to obey rulings from the Supreme Court when the highest court 
dictates that marriage equality is indeed the law of the land; 
challenges like initiatives that are borne out of fear, out of bigotry, 
and out of misunderstanding; and even in Washington, D.C., large 
routine appropriations bills that fail because one side of the aisle 
simply cannot support an amendment that ensures taxpayer dollars are 
not awarded to small businesses that, indeed, discriminate. These 
actions hurt each and every one of us.

                              {time}  2015

  When my LGBT friends are robbed of opportunity that hurts my 
community and local economies in New York's Capital Region, there needs 
to be a voice expressed. When LGBT kids are bullied, that teaches those 
who witness the act that it is okay to diminish the humanity of those 
that may be different from us.
  These challenges are, unfortunately, a natural reaction to the 
massive strides we have taken in a short couple of years on the way 
toward equality. That does not make it acceptable, and we must work 
together to stamp out discrimination of any kind wherever and however 
it may exist.
  Martin Luther King, Jr., has famously said: ``The arc of the moral 
universe is long, but it bends toward justice.''
  That is where we are headed. We will get there sooner if we embrace 
the ideals of tolerance, of togetherness, and certainly of inclusion.
  Another civil rights giant, our friend and our colleague, Congressman 
John Lewis of Georgia, spoke words that I will never forget. He said: 
``Make good trouble.''
  That is exactly what we must do during Pride Month and every month 
until our goals are achieved.
  I thank the Congressional LGBT Caucus and its leadership for 
assembling us here today. Let's take this opportunity to recommit 
ourselves to the noble and simple goal that everyone--that is 
everyone--has a shot at the American Dream regardless of their creed, 
regardless of their color, and regardless of their sexual orientation 
and identity.
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to share thoughts this 
evening, and I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
New York for his words and for taking the time to share what I think is 
a very important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great State of 
California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez), my colleague.
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank 
the gentlewoman from New Jersey for reserving this hour of time for us 
to talk about something that is incredibly important, the LGBTQ Pride 
Month.
  It is just remarkable to look back just in the time that I have been 
here in the Congress to see the equality that has come about in these 
years. Just 8 years ago, in my home State of California, there was a 
proposition to prohibit gay marriage, and it passed. When proposition 8 
passed, it was really heartbreaking for not only California's LGBTQ 
community and its allies, but really for our families because, quite 
honestly, every family in some way or another is connected. We have 
family members who belong to the LGBT community.
  But we didn't let this be a setback to us. Like other Americans, 
LGBTQ Californians believed that they deserved equality under the eyes 
of the law. So in July of 2013, the Supreme Court finally struck down 
core components of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act law that was passed 
right before I got to the Congress. This important ruling made 
proposition 8 null and void, returning marriage equality back to my 
great State of California.
  Last year, the Supreme Court guaranteed an individual's right to 
marry whomever they love regardless of sex. The Supreme Court 
recognized what we have known for a long time, that it is wrong to 
deprive citizens of the right to marry the loves of their lives. They 
recognize that to do so would be to treat same-sex couples like second 
class citizens. Equality, fairness, and love won in the highest court 
of this Nation.
  In our military, LGBTQ servicemembers have also achieved remarkable 
progress towards equality and ending anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Just 5 
years ago, an LGBTQ American could not proudly serve their country in 
the military. But since the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, our LGBTQ 
servicemembers are now able to serve openly in our military. What a 
great day.
  While we celebrate this extraordinary progress, we also have to 
recognize that we still have a ways to go. There are many States in our 
country where you can be fired from your job simply because you are 
gay. Across the country and in Congress, we are still seeing 
discrimination, discrimination, discrimination. Under our current laws, 
LGBTQ Americans aren't guaranteed the vital protections against 
discrimination. That is why I am a proud sponsor of the Equality Act. 
It is time for Congress to pass this essential civil rights 
legislation.
  So, once again, I want to thank my colleague from New Jersey for 
celebrating today and to understand that regardless of sexual 
orientation, all Americans deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from 
California.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier). 
Congresswoman Speier is another colleague from the great State of 
California.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for giving me the 
opportunity to speak today about LGBT Pride Month.
  Pride Month is coming at a crucial time this year. While we have made 
huge strides in the LGBT community over the last few years--from 
marriage equality to the introduction of the Equality Act--this year 
has been a tragic and frustrating reminder of the terrain ahead.
  Congress has ground to a halt, from legislative appropriations to the 
National Defense Authorization Act, as too many conservatives remain 
obsessed with legalizing discrimination from the contracting system to 
our own bathrooms. They just can't help themselves.

[[Page H3658]]

  We can't do our job right now, and soon we will be leaving for 
election season without finishing the appropriations process all 
because conservatives are obsessed with making discrimination legal. 
That's right. They want to make discrimination legal.
  Who are they trying to serve?
  The American people and corporate America are not standing for this 
bigoted behavior. Corporations around the country are canceling 
conventions in States that have passed legislation that prevents 
transgender bathrooms from being available.
  At the entryway to my congressional office stands a California flag 
bearing the rainbow stripes of the LGBT movement. It is a mark of how 
far we have come that such a flag is now commonplace on Capitol Hill, 
but on this Pride Month, conservatives are debating how best to 
overturn anti-discrimination provisions and bar their own constituents 
from using the restroom. This is absolutely ridiculous, and, frankly, a 
tragic nadir in congressional action.
  I am sick and tired of my colleagues saying they oppose 
discrimination, that they are fighting for LGBT Americans, and that 
they support equality when time and again they have voted just the 
opposite way.
  How about instead of bickering about bathrooms, we look at passing 
true anti-discrimination laws?
  Right now we don't have laws preventing housing, credit, workplace, 
or healthcare discrimination. We have lifted the ban on LGBT military 
service, but our transgender servicemembers continue to serve in the 
shadows, never knowing if this will be the day they are dismissed. Now 
is the time to ban so-called gay conversion therapy that harms so many 
of our children.
  Californians, and especially my beloved San Franciscans, have always 
been at the forefront of this fight for equality. As San Francisco 
Supervisor Harvey Milk said when he became one of the first openly gay 
elected officials, gay children who weren't accepted by their parents 
and peers used to feel they had few options: ``staying in the closet; 
suicide. And then one day that child might open a paper that says, 
`Homosexual elected in San Francisco.' ''
  That is what Harvey did many decades ago. One option is to go to 
California, he said, and the other is to stay and fight.
  That is the fighting spirit we need to keep alive today as we work to 
make sure our laws live up to the promise of the Declaration of 
Independence, that all of us, each and every one of us, is created 
equal and that we should be treated that way.
  So I thank my colleague again for giving us the opportunity to have 
this Special Order to talk about Pride Month and the importance of not 
just being proud that there is a Pride Month, but redoubling our 
efforts to make sure that these really insidious amendments are not 
slipped into bills to enforce discrimination. Because that is what they 
do. They legalize discrimination. We don't stand for that. That is not 
what this body is about, and that is not what this country is about.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
California for her wise and compassionate concern and sharing of 
information.
  I want to remind us that there are so many vestiges of discrimination 
against the LGBT community, not the least of which is also denying them 
access to public accommodations. This isn't what this country stands 
for. This isn't who we are. We are better than that. So I am glad to 
have this opportunity to highlight some of our issues and concerns and 
the support that we have for the LGBT community.
  For everyone, anyone, and all of us celebrating this month, I wish 
you a happy Pride Month.
  Mr. Speaker, I conclude my Special Order hour, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.

                          ____________________