Brian Jones: “today I rise to talk about a matter that is very close to my heart and rooted in my faith and belief that we are all…”

“today I rise to talk about a matter that is very close to my heart and rooted in my faith and belief that we are all God's children created in God's image. It is an issue of fundamental equality, of basic human dignity, and it is consistent with the values we strive to embody as American citizens. I stand today to honor the contributions of LGBTQ Americans--the contributions they have given so selflessly to our Nation--and to remind all of my colleagues of the great risks these Americans still face simply because of who they love and who they are. It was 50 years ago this month that the gay community finally rose up. The Stonewall riots were a product of a brutal police force cracking down on the gay community. They found a voice that others had in the previous years. This Pride Month, June, we celebrate that 50 years of a rise in the voice of people to be treated just basically as everyone else. It is an important issue for me. It is an important issue for a number of reasons--first and foremost, because I am a father, but also, I am a product of the Deep South in which I was raised. As a kid, I came of age during a very tumultuous time in our Nation's history, a very tumultuous time in Alabama. When I was a kid, our schools remained segregated for years after the Brown v.…”