U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Leads Colleagues to Introduce First Ever Bipartisan Senate Resolution to Honor the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising
June 28, 2019 marks 50 years since brave Americans at New York’s Stonewall Inn stood up to oppression and discrimination
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the first ever bipartisan U.S. Senate resolution to honor the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. Stonewall is an important moment in American history that sparked the modern day LGBTQ movement for equal rights in communities across the country.
On June 28, 1969, the New York Police Department raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York’s Greenwich Village frequented by the LGBTQ community. But several brave Americans, led in particular by transgender women of color, stood up to the police violence and fought back, causing an uprising at the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding area that lasted six days. On June 6, 2019, the NYPD Commissioner issued an official apology on behalf of the NYPD, stating, “The actions taken by the NYPD were wrong—plain and simple.”
“Today, I’m so proud to introduce this bipartisan resolution in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall uprising,” said Senator Baldwin. “Stonewall is a story of those who came before us and let their voices be heard. Those that bravely stood up and spoke out so that others wouldn’t feel compelled to live in silence. When we look back at the Stonewall uprising and activism that grew out of that moment, even the most basic progress seemed like it would take a revolution to achieve. So we had one. And that’s how we’ve made such enormous progress over the last 50 years. Today, we should remain inspired by the courage of the story of Stonewall.”
“The Stonewall Uprising sparked a half-century of progress for LGBTQ rights in New York and across our entire country,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Now, as we commemorate that extraordinary moment in our history and all the courageous LGBTQ people who were willing to sacrifice everything they had for their rights, I am proud to support this resolution and I urge all of my colleagues to join it too. Fifty years after the Stonewall Uprising, we all have a responsibility to keep fighting until we finally secure full equal rights for the LGBTQ community.”
On Thursday morning, Senator Baldwin will deliver a speech on the Senate floor to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall.
Full text of the resolution is available here.
Additional Senate cosponsors of the resolution include Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
