Celebrating LGBT Pride Month
WASHINGTON--Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) spoke on the celebration of LGBT Pride Month and the movement for equality.
Below is a video and transcript of the speech.
Thank you Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, it's my great pleasure to rise today day in celebration of LGBT Pride Month. Because this year my friends in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have more to celebrate than ever.
America was founded on the principle that we are all created equal, but for decades the struggle for LGBT equality seemed like a distant dream. Just forty-five years ago, in June of 1969, a series of police actions against the gay community sparked the Stonewall Riots, one of the most pivotal moment in the fight for LGBT equality. But what began as a moment is now a movement, bringing LGBT Americans together with allies to fight for the rights they deserve but are too often denied. Back then, the movement moved slowly but surely, making inroads neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city, but now, I'm proud to say, the equality movement is moving state by state, picking up steam across the country with no signs of slowing down.
It seems like now almost every other month a new state is reaffirming the rights of its gay and lesbian citizens to marry who they love, regardless of their gender. In fact, last November my home state of Illinois became the 16th state to legalize same-sex marriage and I have to smile when I think that just two months prior, I was officiating SYMBOLIC marriages at a festival in Chicago to draw awareness to the cause.
What a difference a few months can make.
Currently, gay and lesbian Americans have achieved marriage equality in 18 states and the District of Columbia, and America is stronger for it. Even the Supreme Court has recognized the march toward equality is inevitable, striking down the antiquated Defense of Marriage Act last year. For too long, DOMA denied same-sex couples the federal benefits they've earned and deserve. Thankfully, the Supreme Court saw this discriminatory law for what it was and tossed it into the ash heap of history.
Now LGBT couples are able to file taxes jointly and take advantage of tax breaks that were once limited to heterosexual couples. Now the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces can use the veterans benefits they've earned for their same-sex partners. Now binational couples who once lived everyday under a cloud of uncertainty are able to sponsor their partners for green cards and are treated equally under our immigration laws.
What once was a dream is now our reality. As I said, Madam Speaker, there's more to celebrate this Pride Month than ever before.
This weekend thousands will celebrate how far we've come at the 45th annual Chicago Pride Parade. I'll be proud to join the celebration, as I have every year since 1982, and recommit to the work that lies ahead to reach full LGBT equality.
I look forward to one day soon when the Supreme Court extends marriage rights to all our citizens once and for all, so that no American is denied equality because of the state they live in. A day in which Congress passes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act here in the House, so that no American can be fired simply because of who they love. A day in which LGBT Americans are allowed to visit their loved ones in the hospital and have access to every federal benefit that is available to all other Americans. A day in which we ensure LGBT youth are protected from harassment and bullying, a day in which healthy gay and bisexual men are no longer barred for life from donating blood to patients in need.
It's a day that's coming soon. There's no doubt about that. Until then, we must find the courage to keep marching, keep fighting, and keep believing that one day America will be a nation with liberty and justice for all.