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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
PROCLAIMING LGBTQ+ HISTORY MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, in July of 1961, Illinois became the first state to decriminalize homosexuality by repealing our sodomy laws; and
WHEREAS, in 1952, homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder in the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and it wasn’t until 2013 that such categorizations of homosexuality as a mental illness were removed; and
WHEREAS, on April 27, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order that banned homosexuals from working for the federal government, sighting them as a security risk; and
WHEREAS, on September 11, 1961, the first US-televised documentary about homosexuality aired on a local station in California; and
WHEREAS, the Stonewall Riots occurred in New York City on June 28, 1969, as led by Marsha P. Johnson, Silvia Rivera, Stormé DeLarverie, and Miss Major, and marked the beginning of the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement, although previous demonstrations and organizing efforts amongst the LGBTQIA+ community preceded; and
WHEREAS, on January 1, 1973, Maryland became the first state to statutorily ban same-sex marriage; and
WHEREAS, in 1974, Kathy Kozachenko became the first openly LGBTQ American elected to any public office when she won a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council; and
WHEREAS, on October 14, 1979, the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights takes place, drawing an estimated 75,000 to 125,000 individuals marching for LGBTQ rights; and
WHEREAS, on September 24, 1982, the CDC uses the term “AIDS” (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) for the first time in a new MMWR, and releases the first case definition for AIDS as “A disease at least moderately predictive of a defect in cell-mediated immunity, occurring in a person with no known cause for diminished resistance to that disease”; and
WHEREAS, on October 11, 1988, the first National Coming Out Day was observed; and
WHEREAS, first World AIDS Day was observed on December 1, 1988; and
WHEREAS, on November 30, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the military policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a directive that prohibited openly gay and lesbian Americans from serving in the military; and
WHEREAS, on September 21, 1996, President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage and defining marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife”; and
WHEREAS, on December 3, 1996 - Hawaii’s Judge Chang ruled that the state does not have a legal right to deprive same-sex couples of the right to marry, making Hawaii the first state to recognize that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to the same privileges as heterosexual married couples; and
WHEREAS, on Jun 26, 2003, the Supreme Court decided Lawrence v. Texas, and held that a Texas statute criminalizing “homosexual conduct” violated the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause; and
WHEREAS, on May 17, 2004, the first legal same-sex marriage in the United States took place in Massachusetts; and
WHEREAS, on October 25, 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that state lawmakers must provide the rights and benefits of marriage to gay and lesbian couples; and
WHEREAS, on November 4, 2008, voters approve Proposition 8 in California, which made same-sex marriage illegal, and it wasn’t until 2010 that the proposition was found to be unconstitutional by a federal judge; and
WHEREAS, on September 20, 2011, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed, ending the ban on gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military; and
WHEREAS, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states cannot ban same-sex marriage; and
WHEREAS, on June 30, 2016, Secretary of Defense Carter announced that the Pentagon lifted the ban on transgender people serving openly in the US military; and
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2018, The Trump administration announced a new policy that banned most transgender people from serving in military, which the Supreme Court allows the ban to go into effect in January 2019; and
WHEREAS, on June 15, 2020, The Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex; and
WHEREAS, on January 25, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order repealing the 2019 ban on most transgender Americans joining the military; and
WHEREAS, on December 13, 2022, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act which included new federal protections for same-sex and interracial couples and officially voided the Defense of Marriage Act; and
WHEREAS, here in Cook County there has never been more LGBQT+ representation by our elected officials; and
WHEREAS, these events comprise a small proportion of the extensive history pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community; and
WHEREAS, these historically significant dates, events, and facts are not widely known nor taught; and
WHEREAS, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) History Month is observed each year in the month of October to center and celebrate the history, successes, stories, work, and ongoing issues of the community; and
WHEREAS, LGBTQ+ History Month was founded in 1994 by Rodney Wilson, a high school history teacher in Missouri, and passed as a resolution by the General Assembly of the National Education Association in 1995 which included LGBTQ+ History Month within a list of commemorative months; and
WHEREAS, the month of October was selected to coincide with National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11), and the anniversary of the first march on Washington, and to correlate when schools are in session-providing a time and space for education on the history of the LGBTQ+ community; and
WHEREAS, the LGBTQ+ community is an important contributor to the diverse and vibrant communities across Cook County, and are deserving of a time and space for us all to recognize and appreciate the role of LGBTQ+ people across World and American history; and
WHEREAS, through the power of education, we as a County and a society can better understand the ways that past perspectives, laws, and treatment regarding the LGBTQ+ community continue to impact us today, and help us better advocate for LGBTQ+ members’ ongoing needs and rights;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, hereby proclaim the month of October 2023 to be LGBTQ+ HISTORY MONTH IN COOK COUNTY.
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