K 632: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 2025, as Gay Pride Month in the State of New York

 Assembly Resolution No. 632 BY: M. of A. Glick MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 2025, 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, 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 56th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion; 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 Rebellion 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 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, One year after the Stonewall uprising on June 28, 1970, the first gay pride marches took place in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco; and WHEREAS, Each year, since the Stonewall uprising, the end of June has been celebrated as gay pride with pride marches and other events being held throughout New York State and 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, In June of 2019, the LGBTQIA+ Pride Flag was flown over the New York State Capitol for the first time in history; 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 20, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed Executive Order 13985, which altered the Social Security Number card application process to decrease burdens for people who identify as gender diverse or transgender; 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 was the first openly gay member of a Presidential Administration's Cabinet and served as the highest-ranking LGBTQIA+ American in the Presidential line of succession; and WHEREAS, On June 24, 2022, The Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, and therein indicated the desire to overturn marriage equality and access to contraceptives; and WHEREAS, On December 13, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified into law protections for same-sex marriages and requires states to recognize same-sex couples and award them with equal federal benefits; and WHEREAS, In 2023, over 80 anti-LGBTQI+ bills became law in state legislatures across the Nation; these laws ranged from censoring sexual and gender identity education in Florida to banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors in Missouri; and WHEREAS, On January 20, 2025, an executive order was signed narrowing the definition of gender, recognizing only two sexes, male and female, therefore revoking the recognition of transgender and non-binary rights; 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 2025, as Gay 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.