WASHINGTON, D.C. June 27, 2019 – U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Wednesday joined Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and 22 of their colleagues in introducing 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.

“Over two summer nights in 1969, LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, who for too long faced harassment and discrimination, galvanized a movement to affirm the equal dignity of every American, no matter who they love or how they identify. To this day, the legacy of Stonewall gives strength to the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement in America and reminds us of the work that still remains to ensure equal rights for all,” said Senator Harris. “Fifty years after Stonewall, we must continue to speak the truth that homophobia and transphobia are real and that we must not relent in our fight to achieve true justice and equality in our nation.”

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.”

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), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), 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).

Full text of the resolution is available here.