Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Our Legislative Action Center curated a conversation about building trans political power with experts Emmett Schelling, Executive Director at Transgender Education Network of Texas, and Dylan Waguespack, president of the board of directors for Louisiana Trans Advocates. Check out some of the highlights from our conversation.
Dione Friends joined Equality Federation as Director of Communications in August 2019. Prior to joining Equality Federation, she spent eight years on the communications team at the ACLU of Texas, where she substantially grew their digital presence, communications capacity, and ability to reach people offline.
Media coverage often portrays rural America as singularly white, conservative and working-class. Yet at least 10 million people of color, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of color, call rural America home.
15 states filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking them to rule against three individuals who were fired for being LGBTQ. The three cases include the first transgender civil rights case to be heard by the high court on October 8th.
The 22nd annual gathering of the Leadership Conference is here, who’s ready? Shortly, Equality Federation and Fairness Campaign will co-host over 200+ LGBTQ state and national movement leaders in Louisville, KY [press release].
July 17-20th, Equality Federation and Fairness Campaign will co-host the 22nd annual Leadership Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The conference is the premier gathering of LGBTQ movement leaders focusing on the crucial work of winning equality in state legislatures and local communities across the country.
President Obama called for the repeal of Anti-LGBTQ bills in North Carolina and Mississippi at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister, David Cameron. The British Government recently issued a travel warning to LGBTQ tourists visiting those states.
In a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Virginia, a federal court of appeals ruled in favor of plaintiff Gavin Grimm, a transgender student at Gloucester High School who was not permitted to use the facilities and participate in the programs that match the gender he lives everyday. This is a historic victory for transgender students who, like all students, deserve a fair opportunity to fully participate and succeed in school as their authentic selves.
Equality Federation member Forum For Equality issued the following statement praising Governor John Bel Edwards for signing an executive order forbidding state government and government contractors from discriminating based on a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity, while also repealing Gov. Bobby Jindal’s maligning Marriage and Conscience executive order.
Equality Federation continues to call upon North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and the legislature to repeal House Bill 2 (HB 2), one of the most extreme anti-LGBT laws in the country. The Governor’s executive order purports to create protections in public employment for gay and transgender North Carolinians but does not repeal the law or provide comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people in housing, public spaces, and so on.
South Carolina Senator Lee Bright has introduced a sweeping anti-LGBTQ bill that has some similarities to the law recently passed in North Carolina, which is drawing the outrage of hundreds of corporations and small businesses alongside community and faith leaders.
The cornerstone of our Southern Leaders program is our Southern Leadership Summit, an annual gathering that brings together advocates from the region for two days of intensive workshops and discussion. Challenging legislative sessions in all the Southern states gave us a lot to talk about, and leaders shared what they’d learned so far, with many fights still going on.
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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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