Senate Resolution No. 2649

BY: Senator HOYLMAN-SIGAL

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
June 2024, as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in the State of
New York

WHEREAS, Members of this Legislative Body support the rights,
freedoms, and equality of those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual/agender (LGBTQIA+); and

WHEREAS, Those who took a stand for human rights and dignity at the
Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 1969, are among the pioneers
within this movement and this year marks the 55th Anniversary of the
Stonewall Riots; and

WHEREAS, The Stonewall protestors were subject to police harassment
and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and
expression; and

WHEREAS, The Stonewall uprising and the LGBTQIA+ movement included
the contributions of transgender and gender non-conforming Americans
like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who brought attention to the
continued struggle for the rights of this community; and

WHEREAS, Various decisive moments in history were followed by the
creation of LGBTQIA+ rights organizations in every major city in the
United States within two years of the Stonewall uprising; and

WHEREAS, The Stonewall uprising has been followed by many positive
progressive historic moments; and

WHEREAS, One year after the Stonewall uprising on June 28, 1970, the
first marches for LGBTQIA+ equality took place in New York City, Los
Angeles, and San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, Each year, since the Stonewall uprising, Pride Month has
been celebrated with marches and other events being held throughout New
York State, and throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, A Marriage Equality Bill first passed the New York State
Assembly in 2007; and

WHEREAS, The Marriage Equality Act passed both houses and was signed
into law in New York State on June 24, 2011, making the state the sixth
in the nation to do so; and

WHEREAS, The year 2012 marked the first year all 50 states in the
United States had at least one openly LGBTQIA+ elected official; and

WHEREAS, On June 26, 2013, New York State resident Edith Windsor,
represented by Roberta Kaplan, won her case against the United States;
the Supreme Court ruled that section three of the Defense of Marriage
Act was unconstitutional and the Federal Government cannot discriminate
against married lesbian and gay couples for the purposes of determining
Federal benefits and protections; and


WHEREAS, On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that states
cannot ban same-sex marriage; and

WHEREAS, On June 24, 2016, then President Barack Obama announced the
designation of the first national monument to lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights; the Stonewall National Monument
encompasses Christopher Park, the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding
streets and sidewalks that were the sites of the 1969 Stonewall
uprising; and

WHEREAS, On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court affirmed
that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQIA+ Americans from
discrimination in the workplace after Gerald Bostock, the late Aimee
Stephens, and the late Donald Zarda, also a New Yorker, brought suit
against their former employers when they were fired for identifying as
either gay or transgender only after their employer was made aware of
their gender or sexual identity despite positive job performance; and

WHEREAS, On January 25, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed
the Executive Order Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their
Country in Uniform, which allows transgender Americans to openly serve
in the military; and

WHEREAS, On February 2, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed
Pete Buttigieg with 86 votes in favor as Secretary of Transportation,
and he is the first openly gay member of a Presidential Administration's
Cabinet and is currently serving as the highest-ranking LGBTQIA+
American in the Presidential line of succession; and

WHEREAS, LGBTQIA+ people across this country should remain vigilant
as a wave of anti-trans legislation has spread across the country,
demonizing and taking rights from our transgender community; and

WHEREAS, On June 25th, 2023, Trans Safe Haven legislation was signed
into law, officially designating New York State a safe haven for trans
youth, their families and their health care providers, ensuring that
families from around the nation can come to New York for legal gender
affirming care with protections against legal repercussions from the
regressive laws in their home states; and

WHEREAS, The month of June reminds us of all the achievements of the
past and highlights the work that remains to be done; now, therefore, be
it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 2024, as LGBTQIA+
Pride Month in the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.