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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
21-98
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
July 14, 2015
To declare June 26 as “LGBT Equality Day” in the District of Columbia, to reflect on the
importance of the 3 major rulings issued by the United States Supreme Court that have advanced the rights of all LGBT people.
WHEREAS, in 1995, the District of Columbia repealed its sodomy laws in D.C. Law 10-257, the Anti-Sexual Abuse Act of 1994, and on June 26, 2003, the United States Supreme Court struck down all state laws “making it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct” (sodomy). Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003);
WHEREAS, on July 7, 2009, the District of Columbia began to recognize same-sex marriages entered into in other jurisdictions in D.C. Law 18-9, the Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009, and on June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court struck down prohibitions on federal recognition of valid marriages between same-sex couples and invalidated the first half of the Defense of Marriage Act. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ____ (2013);
WHEREAS, on March 3, 2010, the District of Columbia legalized same-sex marriage in D.C. Law 18-110, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, and on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court struck down all laws prohibiting marriage between 2 persons of the same sex. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___(2015); and
WHEREAS, in light of the fact that the United States Supreme Court has issued 3 major rulings advancing the rights of LGBT people, all on June 26, that date should be declared LGBT Equality Day in the District of Columbia, not just for one year, but as a general date for all time.
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that the Council recognizes the importance of the 3 major rulings issued by the United States Supreme Court that have advanced the rights of all LGBT people and declares June 26 as “LGBT Equality Day” in the District of Columbia.
Sec. 2. This resolution may be cited as the “LGBT Equality Day Recognition Resolution of 2015”.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first day of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
