Paul Tonko: “I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for yielding. Thank you, Representative Watson Coleman, for leading us in this…”

“I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for yielding. Thank you, Representative Watson Coleman, for leading us in this Special Order that is so significant. I stand with many in lending my voice on behalf of the LGBT community in the 20th Congressional District of New York, and across the map of New York for that matter, and across the Nation. We mark Pride Month each year as an opportunity to celebrate the steps that have been taken in the fight for justice, the fight for equality and civil rights for our friends and neighbors in the LGBTQ community. As we reflect on victories, I believe it is critical that we acknowledge the challenges before us; challenges like archaic bathroom laws that conjure up the ghosts of segregation and separate water fountains; challenges like that of Supreme Court Chief Justices who refuse to obey rulings from the Supreme Court when the highest court dictates that marriage equality is indeed the law of the land; challenges like initiatives that are borne out of fear, out of bigotry, and out of misunderstanding; and even in Washington, D.C., large routine appropriations bills that fail because one side of the aisle simply cannot support an amendment that ensures taxpayer dollars are not awarded to small businesses that, indeed, discriminate. These actions hurt each and every one of us.…”