Congresswoman Crockett Introduces Resolution Honoring Texas LGBTQI+ Community

118TH CONGRESS 1st Session

……………………………………………………………

(Original Signature of Member)

H.   RES.   ll

Honoring the struggle, sacrifice, and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community and fight for equality in Texas.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Ms. CROCKETT submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on lllllllllllllll

RESOLUTION

Honoring the struggle, sacrifice, and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community andfight for equality in Texas.

Whereas LGBTQI+ individuals in Texas have historically en- countered bigotry,discrimination, hatred, and violence, but have struggled tirelessly to obtain equal rights and protection of the law;

Whereas, the Circle of Friends was Dallas’ first gay organiza- tion, established in 1965;

Whereas, in 1972, an LGBTQI+ couple was denied the right to marry by the State, which was not illegal, but was un- common and deemed inappropriate;

Whereas, on June 24, 1972, Dallas, Texas, held its first un- official gay pride parade;

Whereas Dallas hosts the world’s largest LGBTQI+ seated dinner fundraiser;

Whereas the first Rainbow LULAC chapter was formed in Dallas;

Whereas Dallas has more Rainbow Crosswalks than any city in America;

Whereas Dallas is the first-and-only city in America to have an official ‘‘pride’’ version of the City flag;

Whereas the landmark legal case, England v. City of Dallas, opened municipal employment, state-wide, for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens;

Whereas the landmark legal case, Baker vs. Wade, established the unconstitutionality ofSection 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code;

Whereas, in 1975, the oldest southern LGBT rights organiza- tion, the Houston LGBTPolitical Caucus, was founded;

Whereas, in 1975, the Dallas Gay Political Caucus was the first major gay and lesbian political organization in Dal- las to counter the anti-gay sentiment that was building throughout the country at the time;

Whereas, in 1976, Austin declared Gay Pride Celebration Week in the month of June;

Whereas, in 1978, Reverend James Harris ran as the first openly gay candidate for Dallas City Council;

Whereas, in 1979, the Houston Gay Pride Parade was first held in the communityarea of Neartown Houston;

Whereas, in 1980, the first official gay pride parade took place in June in Dallas;

Whereas the earliest AIDS resource center in Dallas was the Oak Lawn Counseling Center, founded in 1981 by Har- old P. (Howie) Daire and Candy Marcum, which provided educational and patient support service;

Whereas, in 1982, the BlackTie Dinner held the first of what would become many dinners to contribute to one of the largest sources of funding for many North TexasLGBTQI+ organizations;

Whereas, in 1984, the Supreme Court decision in Gay Stu- dent Services v. Texas A&M University upheld the re- quirement for public universities to uphold the First Amendment rights of students, which require public uni- versities to recognize student organizations aimed at gay students;

Whereas the City of Dallas has comprehensive ordinances of- fering lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender residents protection from discrimination in employment, housing, and other public areas;

Whereas, since its founding in 1984, Dallas Design Indus- tries Foundation Fighting AIDS has grown from a grass- roots organization to a national foundation with chapters across the country;

Whereas, in 1985, the Gay Alliance also provided support and representation for those with HIV/AIDS, and created the AIDS Resource Center, later renamed Resource Cen- ter;

Whereas the Dallas Buyer’s Club was created by Dallas elec- trician Ron Woodroof in1988 to distribute drugs not

then available to AIDS and HIV patients to combat the disease;

Whereas, in 1993, Mr. Craig McDaniel was the first openly gay man to be elected to the Dallas City Council, working to support the rights of the LGBTQI+ community through legislation;

Whereas 1996 marked the first year of Dallas Black Pride, which has grown to be thelargest celebration of its kind in Texas and is continually held every year inthe fall;

Whereas, in 1997, the Texas legislature prohibited the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples;

Whereas the 1999 Texas State Supreme Court annulled transsexual marriages in the State under Littleton v. Prange;

Whereas, in 2001, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed the James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Act, which criminalized violent or coercive action against other Texas residents on various immutable traits, including sexual orientation;

Whereas the City of El Paso celebrated its first gay pride pa- rade on June 2, 2001;

Whereas, in 2002, the Dallas City Council passed an anti-dis- crimination ordinanceprotecting LGBTQI+ persons;

Whereas the 2003 Supreme Court landmark decision Law- rence v. Texas nullified all remaining sodomy laws in the United States, which effectively preempted State law;

Whereas Texas Penal Code 21.06 remains codified, though without legal effect;

Whereas, in 2010, Ms. Annise Danette Parker became the first openly gay mayor in Texas elected to the city of Houston;

Whereas the Texas Latino Gay Pride event began in 2014 and is held annually every early October in the Oaklawn district, the first event of its kind in Texas;

Whereas, in 2012, after President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, the Texas Democratic Party became the first southern Democratic State party to include sup- port of same-sex marriage in its platform;

Whereas, in 2013, El Paso County adopted its Plus One Pol- icy, allowing for LGBTQ County employees to extend certain employee benefits to their domestic partners;

Whereas, in 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized through- out the United States;

Whereas, in Texas, specifically, 2,500 same-sex marriage li- censes were issued in 2015;

Whereas, on June 26, 2015, Mr. Jack Evans and Mr. George Harris became the firstlegally recognized gay marriage in Dallas County;

Whereas, between 2017 and 2021, nine trans women were brutally murdered in Dallas;

Whereas the transgender community in Texas continues to face additional barriers compared to others on issues of health care and housing;

Whereas, in 2019, the Texas legislature formed its first LGBT Caucus with five LGBTQI+ women, and was chaired by Texas State Representative Mary Gonzalez;

Whereas, in 2022, several Texas cities, including Leander, Round Rock, Pflugerville and Lockhart, held their first public LGBTQI+ Pride events in the state’s history;

Whereas Texas cities such as Franklin, Houston, Forth Worth,  Dallas,  San  Antonio,  Galveston,  San  Marcos,

McAllen, El Paso, Lubbock, Waco, Corpus Christi, Abi- lene, Laredo, Tyler, and countless others all have sched- uled LGBTQI+ Pride celebrations in 2023;

Whereas Texas is home to roughly 1.8 million individuals identifying as members ofthe LGBTQI+ community;

Whereas Texas State Code V.T.C.A. 85.007 continues to dis- criminate against theLGBTQI+ community requiring that ‘‘materials in the education programs intended for persons younger than 18 years of age must . . . state thathomosexual conduct is not an acceptable lifestyle and is a criminal offense under Section 21.06, Penal Code’’;

Whereas the Texas Constitution discriminates against the LGBTQI community,recognizing that ‘‘øm¿arriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman’’;

Whereas there are currently no Texas State laws to protect against LGBTQIA+ discrimination in family services, housing, banking, public accommodations,health care, and education; and

Whereas public opinion polls find that a majority of Ameri- cans support same-sex marriage and support imple- menting anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orienta- tion: Now, therefore, be it

1. Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
2. (1) honors the invaluable contributions and sac-
3. rifices of LGBTQI+ individuals and its community
4. in Texas;
5. (2) recognizes the historical significance that
6. Texas has played in the LGBTQI+ movement; and

1. (3) recognizes that local and State governments
2. and the Federal Government must continue their
3. work to honor all members of the LGBTQI+ com-
4. munity in Texas and the United States and ensure
5. that these citizens receive all the rights, privileges,
6. and protections guaranteed under the Constitution.