LGBT History Month Launch

David N. Cicilline represents Rhode Island’s 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He previously served two terms as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, and four terms in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. He was the first openly gay mayor of an American state capital and the fourth openly gay member of Congress. Cicilline is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees and serves on multiple caucuses. He is vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. He has spent his career fighting to protect the middle class and underrepresented communities, working to reduce gun violence, improve health care and employment, safeguard Social Security and Medicare, ensure LGBTQ+ rights, and more. In 2021, the House of Representatives passed his Equality Act, comprehensive legislation prohibiting LGBTQ+ discrimination in areas from education and housing to employment and credit.

Zander Moricz is a plaintiff in the lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida, challenging the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. A graduate of Pine View School for the Gifted in Osprey, Florida, Moricz was the first openly gay class president and held the position for four years. He is the founder and executive director of the Social Equity and Education (SEE) Initiative, which includes 2,000 organizers across the United States. In Florida, SEE is leading student response to hateful legislation through mass organizing and campaign work. In the coming years, SEE aims to register thousands of young voters and galvanize youth movements to oppose oppression nationwide. With a focus on “Don’t Say Gay,” Moricz has commented on GMA, CNN, and MSNBC and testified before the Florida Senate. Major news outlets, including the The Washington Post, Politico, The Independent, ABC, and NBC have covered his activism. His PIne View commencement speech was shared widely by the media. He matriculated at Harvard University in fall 2022. 

Mary Gay Scanlon is a Democratic congresswoman representing Pennsylvania’s 5th District. Her legislative priorities include voting rights, acess to justice, education, economic growth, common sense gun safety, and protecting the rights of children, families, veterans, and seniors. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Committee on Rules, and the Committee on House Administration, and she chairs the House Caucuses on Access to Legal Aid and Youth Mentoring. Previously, she served as national pro bono counsel for a major U.S. law firm, where she supervised hundreds of lawyers providing more than 50,000 hours annually of free services to low-income clients and nonprofit organizations. Under her leadership, the program earned the 2018 American Bar Association’s annual pro bono award.