Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Equality Federation and Equality Federation Institute are winning equality in the communities we call home. You can fuel that momentum by making a contribution to support our work right now:
Equality Utah welcomes state and national leaders to the 16th Equality Federation Institute Summer Meeting. The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City, located in the beautiful, complex state of Utah. Reserve your room online.
HRC's Municipal Equality Index rates selected municipalities by their laws, policies, and services affecting LGBT people. Starting in 2012 with a snapshot of 137 cities in 50 states, the 2013 Index adds 150 more locations to their report. The Equality Federation Institute and the Victory Fund are joint partners in this project.
Equality Federation Institute’s annual Summer Meeting is the premier gathering of state-based and national LGBT movement leaders. More than 150 advocates from across the country gather to connect and forge relationships, collaborate for future success and build momentum toward even greater wins in the communities we call home.
Strong leaders have propelled the movement for equality forward, with unprecedented wins over the last decade. Now our movement is facing new challenges -- from working in more conservative parts of the country to advancing social justice policies like immigration reform and health equity.
Through smart advocacy and strategic public education, our movement has secured key policy victories that have dramatically improved the lives of LGBT people. But as more than a dozen states have now won the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, in addition to several other critical protections for LGBT people and families, our state-based movement has reached a turning point.
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.
On Thursday, April 28th, the House Armed Services Committee voted to pass a discriminatory amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act introduced by Representative Steve Russell (R-OK). The amendment applies the private employer religious exemptions of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to religious organizations receiving any federal contract or grant – which could include universities and hospitals employing thousands of people.
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.
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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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