; Whereas, at the turn of the century in 2000, Vermont became the first State in the country to legally recognize civil unions between same-sex couples; Whereas, on June 8, 2000, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, in Rosa v. Parks, that a transgender person had recourse under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination after being denied a loan for dressing in traditionally feminine attire; Whereas, on June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Lawrence v. Texas, that under the 14th Amendment, States could not criminalize the private, intimate relationships of same-sex couples; Whereas, on August 5, 2004, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals determined, in Smith v. City of Salem, that transgender employees are protected from workplace discrimination under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Whereas, in 2008, a Latino transgender man Diego Miguel Sanchez became the first openly transgender individual to be appointed to the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee; Whereas, on November 4, 2008, Stu Rasmussen of Silverton, Oregon, became the first openly transgender person to be elected mayor in the Nation; Whereas, in 2009, Diego Miguel Sanchez became the first openly transgender congressional senior staffer on Capitol Hill, appointed by Representative Barney Frank; Whereas, on October 28, 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, and the bill expanded existing Federal hate crimes laws to include crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability; Whereas, on January 4, 2010, Mayor Annise D. Parker was sworn in as the first openly lesbian mayor of Houston, the largest city in the United States to have an openly LGBTQ mayor