A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

TO HONOR THE GAY AND LESBIAN ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE ON THE
OCCASION OF ITS 28th ANNIVERSARY AND TO RECOGNIZE THE
DISTINGUISHED CIVIL SERVANTS THE ORGANIZATION WILL PAY
TRIBUTE TO AT ITS ANNIVERSARY RECEPTION

Introduced by Councilmember Jack Evans
Adopted April 13, 1999

WHEREAS, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC (GLAA) was founded in April 1971 to advance the cause of equal rights and social equality for lesbians and gay men living in the District of Columbia through peaceful participation in the political process; and

WHEREAS, GLAA now ranks as the oldest continuously active gay and lesbian rights organization in the country; and

WHEREAS, GLAA has long fought to improve relations between the District's gay and lesbian community and the District's public safety agencies, as evidenced by its leadership in lobbying for legislation enacted in 1998 establishing a new Civilian Complaint Review Board; and

WHEREAS, GLAA has long struggled for effective public health strategies in the fight against AIDS, as evidenced by its recent leadership for legalization of medical marijuana and against imposition of a counterproductive names reporting system for people testing positive for HIV; and

WHEREAS, GLAA has long been at the forefront of the efforts for better enforcement of the landmark D.C. Human Rights Law of 1977, perhaps the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights law in the nation, as evidenced by its call for the establishment of the Office of Human Rights as an independent Cabinet-level agency with a budget sufficient to eliminate its backlog of discrimination complaints; and

WHEREAS, GLAA has kept the gay and lesbian community of Washington informed about the position of candidates for public office by rating all candidates for Mayor and Council in every election since the establishment of home rule, through a system noted for its fairness and nonpartisanship; and

WHEREAS, GLAA has participated in the lobbying efforts against arbitrary Federal restrictions on the District's budget aimed at lesbians and gay men, such as attempts to ban adoptions by unmarried couples and to bar the use of the District's own tax revenues to fund an effective needle exchange program to combat the spread of AIDS; and

WHEREAS, GLAA will be celebrating its 28th Anniversary with a reception at the historic Charles Sumner School on Thursday evening, April 22; and

WHEREAS, GLAA will be presenting its Distinguished Service Awards that evening to several distinguished individuals and organizations who have helped advance the causes and concerns of the lesbians and gay men in the District of Columbia, including:

• Our colleague, the Honorable Carol Schwartz, in recognition of more than a quarter century of service for lesbians and gay men in both her public and private life;
• Mrs. Marjorie Hunter, mother of the late Tyra Hunter, and her lawyer Rick Silber, in recognition of their courageous fight for justice in Tyra's wrongful death in August 1995;
• Wayne Turner and his late partner Steve Michael for their outstanding leadership in the battle for legalization of medical marijuana;
• One in Ten for its sponsorship of the much-acclaimed annual Reel Affirmations gay and lesbian film festival;
• Former GLAA President Rick Rosendall, in honor of his tireless efforts for better treatment of the gay and lesbian community by police and other public safety officials and in gratitude for his awesome skills as designer and webmaster for GLAA's web site;

therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this Resolution may be cited as the "Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance 28th Anniversary Recognition Resolution of 1999."

Sec. Two. The Council of the District of Columbia salutes GLAA on the occasion of its 28th Anniversary Reception on April 22, 1999 and thanks its members for their long record of dedicated service that has advanced the welfare not only of the gay and lesbian community but of the entire population of the District of Columbia.

Sec. Three. The Secretary of the Council will convey a copy of this Resolution to the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance.