[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10088-10089]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            PRIDE RESOLUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Higgins of Louisiana). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Al Green) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
minority leader.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight, and I am proud to 
do so, to present the Pride Resolution as June is Pride Month.
  I am also very proud tonight to have with me a member of the LGBT 
Equality Caucus, who happens to be the co-chair--one of the co-chairs. 
There are 6 co-chairs and 11 vice chairs, 109 members.
  So at this time, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), 
the co-chair, after which I shall make some additional comments.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, Al Green of Texas, for 
bringing forward a resolution simply acknowledging the importance of 
this month to the millions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender 
Americans across the country.
  Al Green's resolution stands in stark contrast to the silence of the 
Trump administration. For the first time in nearly a decade, there was 
no White House proclamation to celebrate Pride. And, you know what, Mr. 
Speaker, we are all proud of being Americans, and we all are proud of 
our heritage, and we are proud of who we are. Just as people are proud 
of their Irish-American heritage, or their Catholic heritage, or they 
are proud to be women or proud to be men, people who are LGBT in our 
country no longer need to stay in the closet.
  They can be fully authentic with who they are, and they can celebrate 
in a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood with their allies, and other 
LGBT Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I got to participate in the Pride festivities in Denver 
this year, and I am looking forward next week to, for the very first 
time, being the grand marshal of a parade, the Colorado Springs Pride 
Parade. I have never had the opportunity to be a grand marshal before.
  But I am glad that Al Green and his cosponsors, including myself, are 
lending their voice, to say that this body, the House of 
Representatives, wants to, of course, honor and respect the full 
diversity of our country, and in the inclusive spirit, celebrate the 
civil rights accomplishments of the LGBT movement as well as recognize 
the work ahead to make sure that LGBT Americans are fully equal under 
the law.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
kind words, and I especially thank him for coming to the floor tonight. 
It means a lot that a member of the caucus would be here, and I want to 
let him know that I wish him the very best with the Pride parade next 
year.
  In Houston, we had our Pride parade. It is one of the largest events 
in Houston, Texas. Literally, thousands upon thousands of people line 
the streets, and everybody is celebrating a rich history that is 
American history. Again, I thank the gentleman for his attendance.
  Mr. Speaker, the resolution has 26 original cosponsors, and this 
resolution is one that we have presented for many years. As I am 
grateful to the many who have signed on to this resolution, I have to 
mention Senator Sherrod Brown because he has presented a resolution on 
the Senate side to acknowledge June as Pride Month.
  He has done so because of the circumstance that was called to our 
attention by Mr. Polis. The White House has not issued a resolution, 
breaking with an 8-year tradition. This is something that is expected. 
It is something that has occurred, and people tend to look to the top 
for the tone and tenor of our behavior to be demonstrated.
  I regret that we did not get the resolution from the White House. My 
prayer is that at some point the White House will have a change of 
heart, a change of mind, and will present a resolution.
  But be that as it may, tonight we are proud to present this 
resolution, and it is important that I present it as an ally of the 
LGBTQ community. I am an ally of the community for good reason, Mr. 
Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I know what discrimination smells like. I know what it 
talks like. I know what it walks like. I know what it looks like. I 
have been the victim of invidious discrimination. I lived in the South. 
I am a son of the South, and the rights that were accorded me under the 
Constitution of the United States of America, Mr. Speaker, were denied 
by my fellow citizens of the South.
  I lived in the South, Mr. Speaker, born in Louisiana, lived in the 
South at a time when I had to drink from colored water fountains. And I 
must tell you, a good many of them were not the kinds of fountains that 
you would want to drink from. They were filthy, to be quite frank with 
you.
  I lived in the South at a time when I had to sit in the back of the 
bus. There

[[Page 10089]]

could be many seats available in the front of the bus, but I had to 
make my way to the back to claim my seat.
  I lived in the South at a time when I had to sit in the balcony of 
the movie. It didn't matter that there were seats in the lower level. I 
was always shown the balcony.

                              {time}  1830

  At a time when I had to receive my food from the back door, couldn't 
go in to many restaurants, and if I did have a restaurant that I could 
go in, it was some room in the back that was set aside for coloreds 
only--colored water fountains, colored restrooms, back of the bus, 
balcony of the movie, and, when we were locked up at that time, it was 
in the bottom of the jail.
  I know what invidious discrimination is like, Mr. Speaker, which is 
why I am here tonight, because I believe that, until all of us are free 
of invidious discrimination, every one of us is at risk of being a 
victim of invidious discrimination.
  This resolution is important because it speaks of the many gains that 
have been made in the LGBTQ community: Barney Frank, the first openly 
gay Member of Congress; Annise Parker, first openly gay mayor in the 
city of Houston; speaks of Stonewall; speaks of many accomplishments; 
speaks of a lot of the tears that have been shed.
  But tonight I want to really focus on the very end of the resolution. 
Rather than go through all of the whereases, I want to go to the be it 
resolved.
  Resolved: That the House of Representatives recognizes that lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer--LGBTQ--rights are human rights 
and are protected by the Constitution, the Constitution of the United 
States of America; recognizes that all Americans should be treated 
fairly and equally, regardless of sexual orientation or gender 
identity.
  This is important, Mr. Speaker, because in this country today, in the 
United States of America today, we still have people who are being 
discriminated against because of who they are.
  In the United States of America, there are still people who have 
rights that are accorded them under the Constitution, very similar to 
my circumstances--not the same, but very similar, very similar, not the 
same, to my circumstances--wherein the rights that were accorded under 
the Constitution were denied by my fellow Americans, and people today 
are having rights denied by their fellow Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Cicilline, David Cicilline, Representative 
Cicilline, has a bill, H.R. 2282, the Equality Act. This bill has 195 
cosponsors. This bill would address the inequalities that we see in 
America.
  Examples are always good. In this country, the Supreme Court has made 
marriage equality the law of the land. One would think that, if it is 
the law of the land, all persons who are married would be treated the 
same as all other persons who are married. All persons who happen to be 
of the LGBTQ community would be treated like I would be treated if I 
were married, as a person who is not a member of the community, but an 
ally.
  That is not the case, Mr. Speaker. In the United States of America, 
if you are married and you are of the LGBTQ community and you wear your 
ring to work the next day and proudly announce that you are married, 
you can be fired. You can be fired for engaging in an act that is 
constitutional in the United States of America.
  Why? Because we have about 31 States that have not clearly defined 
the fact that all persons are to be treated equally, endowed by their 
Creator with these certain inalienable rights, among them, life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. All persons, this would include 
people who are of the LGBTQ community. But, unfortunately, in a good 
many States, they can be fired for just showing up to work and 
announcing that they are of the LGBTQ community.
  Mr. Speaker, no one should be denied the right to work because of who 
the person happens to be when it is a lawful--lawful--status that you 
occupy. Marriage is lawful in this country. People ought not be 
punished for being married.
  People ought not be punished for their sexual orientation in this 
country. In this country, you can be denied service, certain services, 
because of your sexual orientation. One would think that we were long 
past the time when people would judge you and draw conclusions about 
who you are and what you represent simply because of your sexual 
orientation.
  Sexual orientation is not a limitation on a person's dignity, on a 
person's humanity. Sexual orientation does not divest a person of 
citizenship, does not divest a person of rights supported under the 
Constitution. Sexual orientation is but a means by which a person was 
born into this world.
  I believe that my God doesn't make any junk. I believe that my God 
created people purposefully and created them as they are to be who they 
are in a world where all persons should be treated equally, created 
equally by God, treated fairly and equally by humanity.
  So since I believe this and I have had these experiences, it is 
appropriate that I stand here on the floor of the House of 
Representatives to say to the world that we as a great nation should 
not allow ourselves to continue to deny human rights and human dignity 
to people because of their status, a status that they were born with, a 
status that the Supreme Court recognizes, a status that is to be 
protected under the Constitution of the United States of America.
  I am proud to stand here and take up the challenge and the cause. I 
am a person who believes that, until we have paid the debts to others 
for the work that they have done to accord us our freedom, we still 
have a job to do. There is still great work to be done.
  I didn't get here because of my work alone. I didn't get here because 
I am the person who ought to have this position. There were people who 
sacrificed and made it possible for me to have this opportunity. There 
were people who surrendered their lives so that I would have the 
opportunity to stand here tonight.
  So I owe a debt, and I am standing here tonight to continue to repay 
the debt I owe to others who made it possible for me to have the rights 
and enjoy the rights--to be more specific, enjoy the rights--that I 
enjoy in this country, and I want others to enjoy these rights as well.
  This is not to say that all of the discrimination against African 
Americans is over and the world is a perfect place. It is not. But it 
is perfect enough for me to come to the floor of the House of 
Representatives and stand for justice for others just as persons have 
stood for justice for me.
  So I thank you for the time, Mr. Speaker. It has been time well 
spent, in my opinion. I am honored that this resolution has been 
presented. I am honored that it has cosponsors--26.
  My prayer is that one day the House of Representatives will pass this 
resolution; my prayer is that one day Mr. Brown's resolution will pass 
in the Senate; and my prayer is that one day this President will issue 
a proclamation, if you will, a resolution of a sort, recognizing June 
as Pride Month, LGBTQ Pride Month.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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