Though the national political scene has been tumultuous, unpredictable, and downright discouraging these past few months, I have the privilege to work with passionate Ohioans in several of our cities who are determined to do everything they can to stand with LGBTQ Americans in the face of harmful rhetoric coming from this new administration and its advocates.

With the challenges, disappointments, and threats coming out of Washington, it’s a pleasure to see forward thinking legislative packages coming out on the state level. Equality Federation will keep highlighting the groundbreaking work of our member organizations.

Equality Federation will continue to fight for the inclusion and fair treatment of transgender students. We are encouraged by the outpouring of support for Gavin and other transgender students across the nation.

This legislative session, we’ve hired a Policy Fellow to analyze the impact of proposed policies related to the LGBTQ community in all 50 states at the state legislative level. After a wide search with numerous qualified applicants, this week we welcomed Maryse Pearce to the team.

Today the Trump Administration took a giant step back from their previously stated commitment to champion fairness and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

In early February, the South Dakota legislature introduced SB149, a FADA (First Amendment Defense Act) style adoption bill. Despite the bill’s sponsor’s claim to the contrary, the impact of the legislation is clear. This bill will allow taxpayer funded adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people.