Recognizing the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance Gay Softball World Series in Kansas City, Missouri

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I proudly rise today to celebrate the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) Gay Softball World Series this year being held in Kansas City, Missouri. On behalf of myself and Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, we are honored and overjoyed to have been selected as the 2019 host of the Gay Softball World Series.

In 1977, teams of athletes from New York and San Francisco, met to form the organization that would become NAGAAA and organize the inaugural Gay Softball World Series. Today, over four decades later, the NAGAAA is an international sports organization committed to providing and promoting opportunities for LGBTQ+ communities to participate in amateur athletics across the United States and Canada. In 2019, more than one thousand NAGAAA teams competed across seven divisions of play in forty-six cities throughout North America. The organization is focused on creating a safe and inclusive environment where its athletes can compete and be themselves.

Kansas City has a longstanding tradition of LGBTQ+ activism and advocacy, which was kindled in 1966 when the city hosted the National Planning Conference of Homophile Organizations. After the conference, the city became a leader on the national stage for the movement for LGBTQ+ civil rights, spearheaded by the Phoenix Society for Individual Freedom. The Phoenix Society for Individual Freedom was committed to ``improving the legal, social, and economic status'' of members of the LGBTQ+ community while providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ Kansas Citians to live freely. In the face of discrimination and inequality, LGBTQ+ individuals found refuge and community in Kansas City.

Kansas City, with its history of championing LGBTQ+ rights and culture, is extremely proud that the NAGAAA selected us to host the Gay Softball World Series this year. Today, Kansas City continues to be a metropolis of LGBTQ+ culture nationwide. Through cornerstone institutions such as the Kansas City Center for Inclusion, Empowering Queer Activists and Leaders (EQUAL), and the Mid-America Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, to name a few, the city fosters a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for the uplifting of LGBTQ+ individuals. LGBTQ+ arts thrive in Kansas City as well via the Heartland Men's Chorus, performances at Hamburger Mary's and Missie B's, and at the annual KC LGBT Film Festival. In April, the AIDS Walk of Kansas City is held to raise awareness for the disease, and in June, the entire city celebrates Pride. As a proud host of the Gay Softball World Series, Kansas City looks forward to continuing its rich history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance for their admirable work with the LGBTQ+ community nationwide and celebrating the 2019 Gay Softball World Series in Kansas City. We are indebted to the NAGAAA which has changed the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals for the past forty-two years and left an indelible mark on our country and communities.

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