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.
