; Whereas, on June 9, 2014, Laverne Cox became the first openly transgender person on the cover of Time Magazine; Whereas, on June 17, 2014, Darrin P. Gayles was the first openly gay Black man to be confirmed as a Federal judge; Whereas, on July 10, 2014, Laverne Cox became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy Award; Whereas, on July 21, 2014, President Barack Obama took action to protect LGBTQIA+ 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, Olympic triathlete Chris Mosier became the first transgender athlete to earn a spot on Team USA; Whereas, on June 9, 2015, the equal opportunity policy of the United States Armed Forces was updated to protect servicemembers from harassment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; Whereas, on June 23, 2015, Stonewall Inn in New York City received a landmark designation by the Landmarks Preservation Commission of New York City so that the Stonewall Inn cannot be torn down or developed without approval; Whereas, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges held in a 5–4 ruling that the 14th Amendment requires all States to license marriages between same-sex couples and to recognize all marriages that were lawfully performed in a different State; Whereas, on July 17, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is sex discrimination for purposes of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Whereas, on July 23, 2015, H.R. 3185, with the short title 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