Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
In every corner of the nation, state-based groups have spent the month of June celebrating Pride. Many are using these events to grow their list; others are mobilizing supporters around a legislative or ballot campaign; still more are taking this opportunity to educate their base on critical issues facing LGBT people.
Like many of you, the Equality Federation team was glued to SCOTUS Blog yesterday morning. And like you, we were elated when the decisions were released. DOMA struck down. Marriage restored in California. A giant weight was lifted off our shoulders, and we breathed a sigh of relief. We won.
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its highly anticipated decisions in U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. In the case of U.S. v. Windsor, the Justices struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1993 policy that denies married same-sex couples equal protection under the law. In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court let stand the landmark Federal District Court ruling striking down Proposition 8.
In every state across the country, LGBT people are celebrating historic Supreme Court victories. And while our work continues, this Pride month has been one for the history books!
Today, the Supreme Court struck down a central part of the Voting Rights Act, invalidating crucial protections passed by Congress in 1965 and renewed four times in the decades since. The sharply divided decision will significantly reduce the federal government’s role in overseeing voting laws in areas with a history of discrimination against African-Americans.
With July right around the corner, we're really looking forward to seeing all of our members and partners in Salt Lake City at the 16th Annual Summer Meeting, hosted by Equality Utah.
Equality California’s #TakeIt:I’m PrEP’ed program is a statewide educational campaign to educate the LGBTQ community and healthcare providers on the availability and benefits of PrEP, the daily pill to prevent HIV, as well as other forms of HIV treatment and prevention. More broadly, this program falls under our broader efforts to end the HIV epidemic in California by “Getting to Zero” – zero new HIV transmissions, zero HIV-related deaths and zero HIV stigma.
Equality Federation applauds Transgender Law Center and Federation member Equality California for their leadership on this legislation and calls on Governor Brown to sign it into law.
Nancy Haque, leader of Basic Rights Oregon, made us laugh, cry, and feel charged up and ready to resist the Trump Administration’s attacks on all our communities. In this FEDTalk, she describes her reaction to the election as a single mom and having an immigrant family.
President Trump and Attorney General Sessions are calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of a baker who refused to serve a same-sex couple. SCOTUS’ ruling in the upcoming Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case could change the landscape of existing non-discrimination laws across the country.
The hurricanes that have battered the southeast over the past month have left devastation in their wake. Our friends in Texas, Florida, the Caribbean, and beyond have a long road ahead.
President Trump’s announcement that he will end DACA, a program that protects undocumented young people who grew up in America from deportation, is a cruel and heartless attack on 800,000 families.
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With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.
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