Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
State-based organizations across the country are making change in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people with the protection, respect and dignity they need and deserve, but far too often, these wins go unsung by the broader LGBT movement.
On November 5, the Illinois House passed the freedom to marry in a decisive 61 to 54 vote, following Senate passage on Valentine’s Day earlier this year. On November 20, Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill into law and gave committed same-sex couples across the state the protection and dignity they deserve.
Last month, we welcomed an incredible group of state leaders to our Midwest Leadership Summit in Chicago.
Since 2006, the State of the States report by the Equality Federation has documented the strength and sustainability of state-based advocacy organizations that advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
The gross irony that Native Americans are being abused by overzealous police during Thanksgiving has not been lost on Equality Federation. For this #SolidarityWednesday we encourage you to consider donating to one of the organizations supporting the protestors at Standing Rock in the Dakotas who are fighting to preserve the land and water for future generations.
In recent months, Assembly Bill 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act, was passed by both chambers of the California legislature and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. This bill restates existing anti-discrimination law requiring that transgender students, like all students, be provided with a safe and supportive school environment where they can succeed.
‘The U.S. Department of Justice has given North Carolina’s Governor McCrory until Monday, May 9th to confirm that the state will not comply with HB2. The Williams Institute has projected that the fiscal impact of HB2 could be over $100 million (see infographic below).
Equality Federation is proud to be working to support Washington Won’t Discriminate, a new coalition-run campaign to educate voters in the state of Washington about the dangers of repealing parts their non-discrimination protections. On April 28th, the campaign packed the pews for its launch.
When even the anchors at notoriously anti-LGBTQ/biased Fox News think your law is discriminatory and unnecessary, it might be time to rethink things. Watch as host Megyn Kelly rakes Gov. McCrory over the coals for his flawed defense of HB2.
Equality Federation congratulates South Carolina Equality and all of the hardworking South Carolinians who helped ensure the defeat of S.1203, an anti-transgender bill that would have enshrined discrimination into state law by forcing transgender people to use the bathroom consistent with their biological sex, not their gender identity that they live every day, in all publicly-owned facilities including schools.
Federation member PROMO Missouri is celebrating victory as anti-LGBTQ, religious exemption legislation, SJR 39, has failed to make it out of committee rendering it dead.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed discriminatory legislation that allows counselors and therapists to refuse treatment based on their religious objections or personal beliefs. The American Counseling Association has called the legislation an “unprecedented attack” on the counseling profession.
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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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