Rep. Watson Coleman Introduces Resolution Honoring Important Work of LGBTQIA+ Community Organizations
Today, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) introduced a resolution honoring the important work that LGBTQIA+ community organizations have done throughout history.
The resolution recognizes the importance of organizations that support the LGBTQIA+ community, including those especially vulnerable to attack.
LGBTQIA+ community spaces that exist to uplift and support our LGBTQ neighbors - groups like the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Defamation League (GLADL) (later known as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), and local organization that protect and empower their members - have played a crucial role in the advancement of equality of rights for all Americans. This resolution recognizes the necessity of this work and commends those who foster community partnerships between marginalized groups.
“Attacks on our LGBTQ neighbors have been increasing in recent years and have escalated following targeting by Donald Trump and his extremist allies in the MAGA movement,” said Congresswoman Watson Coleman. “It’s more important than ever to recognize the vital services and community provided by organizations that have been unwavering in their support of the LGBTQ community and the fight for equal rights for all.”
"This robust Resolution is especially meaningful at this tender time for our Queer Community & even more so in the face of an even more fraught future for our LGBTQIA+ youth & intersectional families across the rainbow spectrum, especially our most at risk trans & non-binary folx,” said Robt Martin Seda-Schreiber, Chief Activist, Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice in Princeton, New Jersey. “All of us at Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice HQ are so proud to work in a dedicated, powerful partnership with our stalwart ally Bonnie to ensure that all of us receive the respect, recognition, & LOVE we all deserve!"
"We thank Congresswoman Watson Coleman, long a staunch ally in the fight for lived equality, for putting forth this critical resolution, at this critical moment in time,” said Lauren Albrecht, Director of Advocacy and Organizing at Garden State Equality. “We join her in our gratitude for our trailblazing forebears such as ACT UP, our bars and clubs and other safe spaces that have been incubators of queer culture, the Ballroom scene from which the current LGBTQ culture borrows so much, and all those in the past that have given everything to secure our rights and our successes in the future. It is fitting and appropriate to memorialize our continuing community partner GLAAD in this moment, alongside the memory of New Jersey's own Marsha P. Johnson. To know where we're going, we need to remember where we came from."
“On behalf of the young people and families with whom we work, HiTOPS expresses deep gratitude to Congresswoman Watson Coleman for her unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and for introducing this resolution. The resolution underscores the essential role that the larger community plays in fostering resilience, promoting equity, and ensuring the safety and well-being of queer youth, especially during a time when our communities face rising hate and violence” stated HiTOPS Executive Director Lisa Shelby. “Now more than ever, we need to stand strong with LGBTQ+ young people and their families.”
The resolution is cosponsored by Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Henry “Hank” Johnson (GA-04), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Dina Titus (NV-01), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Jahanna Hayes (CT-05), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Lloyd Dogget (TX-37), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), and Andre Carson (IN-07).
Text of the resolution can be found here.