[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 60 (Thursday, April 6, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE GAY AND LESBIAN ACTIVIST ALLIANCE OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 6, 2017

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in celebrating the 46th anniversary of the 
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA), a 
revered organization that has long been a leader in the struggle for 
equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 
questioning (LGBTQ) community.
  Since its founding in April 1971, GLAA has been a respected and 
tireless advocate not only for LGBTQ rights, but also for full and 
equal rights for the District of Columbia, and has been at the 
forefront of efforts to strengthen enforcement of the landmark D.C. 
Human Rights Act of 1977. One of GLAA's most significant achievements, 
on which it worked with coalition partners, D.C. elected officials, and 
District residents, was the enactment of the D.C. Religious Freedom and 
Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act, which allowed same-sex couples 
to marry in the District.
  GLAA also has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ youth and seniors; 
has stood up for the rights of LGBTQ consumers; has upheld the rights 
of transgender people, including equal treatment by police and access 
to culturally competent healthcare; has educated and rated local 
candidates on LGBTQ issues; and has built and nurtured coalitions with 
other constituencies to advance these causes and defend the District's 
autonomy.
  At GLAA's 46th anniversary reception on April 20, 2017, the following 
recipients of its 2017 Distinguished Service Awards will be recognized:
  Jose Gutierrez is an activist, historian, poet and leather enthusiast 
who resides in Washington D.C. and is originally from Reynosa, Mexico. 
His family immigrated to Atlanta, GA in the mid-1980s, where he 
launched his advocacy career working for AID Atlanta and co-founding 
Latinos en Accion, a Latino LGBTQ organization. Jose is recognized for 
his work on human rights and AIDS advocacy both locally and nationally. 
In 2000, he founded the Latino GLBT History Project, the oldest D.C. 
Latino LGBTQ organization and most recently co-founded the Rainbow 
History Project, DiCcion Queer and the Latino Leather. In 2007, Jose 
organized the first D.C. Latino Pride. Currently, Jose is pursuing his 
B.S. in psychology at the University Ana G. Mendez, and works at the 
Department of Homeland Security in the District. Jose is an active 
member of the D.C. Latino Caucus, LULAC LAMBDA, the OutWrite and the 
Latinx LGBTQ D.C. Center.
  Reverend Cedric A. Harmon is a native Midwesterner with Southern and 
New England influences--a surprise last child to older parents who 
shared with him the gift of experience and wisdom. He has a B.S. in 
media management from Emerson College, and has completed extensive 
graduate work at Wesley Seminary. Cedric's deep faith calls him to do 
the work of justice and equality and to equip others to do the same. He 
is also known for his writing and television appearances--again on 
human rights and social justice--and serves on several boards having to 
do with sexuality and religion. He served as pastor of a ``radically 
inclusive'' congregation in the District, and is currently Executive 
Director of Many Voices--a new nonprofit creating a Black Church 
movement for gay and transgender justice.
  Mara Keisling is the Executive Director of the National Center for 
Transgender Equality, the nation's leading social justice advocacy 
organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. Since 
founding NCTE in 2003, Mara has led organizational and coalition 
efforts that have won significant advances in transgender equality, 
including the inclusion of gender identity in the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act, the first-ever congressional hearing on transgender 
issues, and countless federal administrative and state-level wins. As 
one of the nation's leading voices for transgender equality, Mara is 
regularly quoted in national and local print media and has appeared on 
major television networks. She was part of the first all-transgender 
television interview on Melissa Harris-Perry's show in 2012. Mara holds 
a B.A. from Pennsylvania State University, and did her graduate work in 
American Government at Harvard University.
  Reverend Barry W. Lynn is the retiring Executive Director of 
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) after serving 
in that capacity for the last 25 years. GLAA has worked very 
productively with Rev. Lynn and his highly capable and efficient staff 
at AU in resisting the federally imposed school voucher program in D.C. 
These private schools are not accountable to D.C.'s elected officials 
and their students, staffs, and teachers may lack the protections of 
the D.C. Human Rights Act. We are also honoring Rev. Lynn for 
aggressively defending the civil rights of the LGBTQ community on a 
host of national issues. He has long championed marriage equality, 
fought against ``bathroom bills'' that demonize transgender men and 
women and legislative attempts to gut local and national civil rights 
protections in the guise of ``religious freedom.'' The AU has, with 
Rev. Lynn's direction, filed numerous amicus briefs in cases directly 
affecting the LGBTQ community. Few if any other activists have been 
more outspoken than Rev. Lynn in integrating the interests of the LGBTQ 
community with the whole range of church-state separation issues.
  I ask the House to join me in honoring the recipients of GLAA's 2017 
Distinguished Service Award and in celebrating GLAA's 46 years of 
contributions to the LGBTQ community in the District of Columbia.

                          ____________________