Equality California Thanks Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for her Decades of Congressional Service

WASHINGTON - Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang released the following statement in response to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi- who has served in the House of Representatives since June of 1987 - announcing that she would retire following the completion of her current term and not seek re-election in next year's midterms:

"Since her very first speech on the House floor on the fight against HIV and AIDS, Speaker Emerita Pelosi has been an unwavering force for equality - driving historic progress and standing shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ+ community in California and across the country.

Speaker Emerita Pelosi has carved a singular path in American politics and made history. The first woman ever elected Speaker of the House, she spent two decades leading House Democrats, one of the longest tenures of party leadership in our nation's history. Under her leadership, Congress passed groundbreaking legislation, including the Affordable Care Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

As San Francisco's representative in Congress, Pelosi witnessed firsthand the devastation of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. In response, she co-authored the Ryan White CARE Act - the first federal law to provide dedicated funding for treatment and services for people living with HIV and AIDS. She was also among the few members of Congress to vote against the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, and later voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006, which sought to enshrine marriage inequality in the Constitution. One of the final bills passed under her second Speakership, the Respect for Marriage Act, repealed DOMA and ensured federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages.

Speaker Emerita Pelosi has also been a steadfast defender of democracy and accountability - standing up to the corruption and chaos of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, presiding over two successful impeachments, and famously tearing up Trump's State of the Union address in a defining act of defiance.

Equality California has had the immense privilege of working alongside Speaker Emerita Pelosi since our founding in 1999. She has lent her voice and influence to some of our most consequential fights - from the battle to secure full marriage equality in California and nationwide to the ongoing effort to pass the federal Equality Act. In recognition of her decades of service to California and the nation, Equality California proudly honored her with our Vanguard Leadership Award.

We thank Speaker Emerita Pelosi for her historic decades of service to our country and look forward to continuing to work with her as one of America's strongest, pro-equality voices during her remaining time in Congress, and whatever her next chapter holds."

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