; Whereas, on July 23, 2015, H.R. 3185, with the short title of the Equality Act, was introduced in the 114th Congress by Representative David Cicilline with bipartisan support, which amends the 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; Whereas, on October 31, 2015, the Obama administration announced that it would approve the spouses of refugees who are approved for resettlement in the United States, including same-sex spouses who come from countries where legal unions are not possible; Whereas, in the first 10 weeks of 2016, according to a Human Rights Campaign tally, more than 200 bills across 34 States were introduced that are considered anti-LGBTQ, and the threat to the civil liberties of LGBTQ people has increased on the State level since the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality; Whereas, on May 13, 2016, the Departments of Justice and Education released joint guidance to help provide educators the information they need to ensure that transgender students attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex; Whereas, on May 18, 2016, Eric Fanning was sworn in as Secretary of the Army, marking the first time a branch of the military was led by an openly gay person; Whereas, on June 30, 2016, the Department of Defense announced an immediate policy change allowing trans­gen­der servicemembers to serve openly without fear of retribution; Whereas, on July 5, 2016, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, known as the National PTA, adopted a resolution on the Recognition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning Individuals as a Protected Class