; Whereas, on June 17, 2014, Darrin P. Gayles was the first openly gay African-American man to be confirmed as a Federal Judge; Whereas, on July 10, 2014, Laverne Cox became the first openly transgender individual to be nominated for an Emmy award; Whereas, on July 21, 2014, President Obama took action to protect LGBTQ workers by signing an Executive order prohibiting Federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; Whereas, on June 8, 2015, triathlete Chris Moiser became the first transgender athlete to earn a spot on the United States national team; Whereas, on June 9, 2015, the United States military’s equal opportunity policy was updated to protect LGB servicemen and women from harassment and discrimination; Whereas, on June 23, 2015, New York City’s Stonewall Inn received a landmark designation by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission so that the bar cannot be torn down or developed without approval; Whereas, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States in Obergefell v. Hodges decided by a vote of 5–4 that the 14th Amendment requires all States to license marriages between same-sex couples and to recognize all marriages that were lawfully performed out-of-State; Whereas, on July 23, 2015, H.R. 3185, with the short title of the Equality Act, was introduced in the 114th Congress by Rep. David Cicilline with bipartisan support, which amends our Nation’s Federal civil rights laws to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination in employment, housing, credit, education, public accommodation, federally funded programs, and jury service; Whereas, on July 17, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation is sex discrimination for purposes of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964