WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Greg Stanton is recognizing Pride Month by taking legislative action to promote inclusion and advance equal rights and protections for LGTBQ individuals.
“Since day one, we’ve been working to protect the equal rights of LGBTQ individuals and to make our communities more inclusive and welcoming for everyone,” said Stanton. “When we pass pro-equality bills it sends a clear message—that in America, everyone deserves to be treated equally no matter who they are, who they love, or how they express themselves.”
This week, Stanton cosponsored two resolutions—one to recognize today, June 26 as Equality Day, and the second to officially recognize June as LGBTQ Pride Month.
June 26 marks the anniversary of three landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions that historically impacted the equal rights for millions of Americans. Lawrence v. Texas in 2003 decriminalized consensual same sex conduct; U.S. v. Windsor in 2013 struck down the Defense of Marriage Act; and Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 legalized same sex marriage nationwide.
The Equality Day resolution celebrates those historic anniversaries and the progress made since, but also acknowledges the work left to be done to ensure all Americans have full equal rights under the law.
Pride Month is observed in cities across the U.S. in June in recognition of the uprisings that took place outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 1969—Friday marks the event’s 50th anniversary. The events sparked the beginning of the modern LGBTQ human rights movement.
Stanton has made equality a priority since the start of his time in Congress.
- On his first day, he voted to approve new House Rules, which ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender in the House chamber. The vote earned bipartisan support.
- In May, the House passed the Equality Act—with bipartisan support—to end discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. Stanton cosponsored the bill.
- He is a cosponsor of the LGBTQ Essential Data Act, which would improve the data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity of victims of violent deaths—including bias-motivated violence and suicide. The bill was first introduced in 2016 after the tragic shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people—most who were young, LGBTQ and Latinx.
- He is a cosponsor of H.Con.Res. 34, which supports the goals and ideals of GLSEN’s 2019 Day of Silence. The initiative brings attention to anti-LGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.
- He cosigned a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan expressing concern over the dangers LGBTQ asylum seekers face under the current “remain in Mexico” policy.
- He cosigned a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science to support expanded data collection from the Census Bureau on LGBTQ individuals.
- Stanton is a member of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.