LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim June 2014 as Gay 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, and transgender
(LGBT); 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
WHEREAS, The LGBT Stonewall protestors were subject to police harass-
ment and invidious discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity and expression; and
WHEREAS, This decisive moment in history was followed by the creation
of gay 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, In December of 1973, the board of the American Psychiatric
Association voted to remove homosexuality from its list of mental
illnesses; 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, This more than doubled the percentage of Americans who lived
in states with fair marriage laws and affected more than 42,000 same-sex
couples raising 14,000 children in the state; and
WHEREAS, The year 2012 marked the first year all 50 States in the
United States had at least one openly LGBT 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; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 2014 as Gay Pride
Month in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.