A U.S. congressman introduced two bills to establish an LGBTQ+ history and culture museum in Washington, D.C. 

Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan (D), who is openly gay and serves as a co-chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, introduced the bills Sept. 29, two days before the start of LGBTQ+ History Month. The first bill would organize an eight-member commission in the House of Representatives to investigate the feasibility of a National Museum of American LGBTQ+ History and Culture and submit a plan for its construction and maintenance to Congress within the next 18 months. The second bill would officially establish the museum within the Smithsonian Institution. Both bills must be signed into law to create the museum, which is likely to take multiple congressional sessions.

In a press release, Pocan said establishing a national LGBTQ+ museum to honor and remember the community’s history is essential in today’s political climate.

“It is vital to remember our collective past — particularly when certain states seek to constrain and repeal existing rights by passing bills that harm LGBTQ+ youth and our community at large,” the press release read. “Let’s tell these stories, and honor the many contributions the LGBTQ+ community has made to this nation with a museum in Washington, D.C.”

The bills come on the heels of a record number of state legislatures passing anti-LGBTQ+ measures in 2021, according to tracking and analysis by the Human Rights Campaign. Pocan said because of the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, it is essential to establish institutions that safeguard against attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.

“As our community faces unprecedented attacks and attempts to erase our history, we must preserve and protect our stories for future generations,” Pocan said in the press release.

April Sizemore-Barber, a professor in the women’s and gender studies program at Georgetown University, said the museum would be a powerful show of national support for LGBTQ+ history as part of American history.

“Whether or not it passes, I think, symbolically, it is necessary that the government or government representatives respond to make visible these histories and affirm them,” Sizemore-Barber told The Hoya.

If the bill does not pass by the end of the current session of Congress, a spokesperson for Pocan told Washingtonian he will reintroduce it in the next session. 50 members of Congress, in addition to all nine openly LGBTQ+ representatives, originally cosponsored the bills. All of the cosponsors are members of the Democratic Party.

Matt Shinnick (COL ’25), who serves as director of social affairs for GU Pride, said it is important to explore different voices within the LGBTQ+ community while highlighting different aspects of queer culture. 

“It would also be great to see an emphasis on the continuing fight for equality many queer people still endure, especially the specific struggles that many LGBTQ+ people of color face, since that’s often overlooked,” Shinnick wrote to The Hoya.

According to Sizemore-Barber, the museum should also focus on the intersectionality of queerness and its links to other identities.

“If you have a singular kind of gay narrative, there is a danger of erasing, of erasure,” Sizemore-Barber said. “Bring in voices. Bring in art. I think that a good museum would look and interrogate the idea of these categories themselves or historicize them. Like what does it mean when we say ‘gay history?’”

This LGBTQ+ history museum would join the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women’s History Museum as the newest additions to the Smithsonian Institution, which were approved by Congress in 2020 and are estimated to be completed within the next 10 years.

Shinnick said it is important to see increased representation in various communities’ histories and honor them through museums in the District.

“With women’s history and Latino history museums on the way, it is clear that there’s a strong movement for diversity, and it would be amazing to see queer history be represented,” Shinnick wrote. “D.C. has so many great museums that educate on a diverse array of different topics. However, there has been very little focus on queer history or culture. Having a museum specifically dedicated to it, rather than just temporary exhibits, would be wonderful.”