Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
This year’s Pride Month marks the 49th anniversary of Pride, and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The nearly week-long protest took place in June 1969 in response to ongoing police raids at gay bars and clubs, and is now what most people consider to be the catalyst for the gay rights movement.
On March 13, 2019 bipartisan members of Congress introduced the Equality Act, which would update federal law to include express and enduring nondiscrimination protections for Americans based on sexual orientation and gender identity across virtually every area of daily life. It also includes protections from discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin, and religion that are additional to those already afforded under federal law.
Dear Supporters,In 2018, our 43 state-based member organizations made a lot of headway despite the tough political struggles at the national level. Equality Federation is a strategic partner to our member organizations, making sure that the whole movement for LGBTQ equality and justice is linked, from one end of the country to the other.
Growing up in Alabama, I loved visiting the farm where my dad was raised. We’d ride four wheelers, hunt, fish, and all pitch in during hay season. Well, mostly my cousins and I got in the way. In some ways, I felt at home in the country, as my family called it.
Big congrats to Freedom Oklahoma!The organization has recently welcomed their new executive director Allie Shinn.
Today Equality Federation lauded the reintroduction of the Equality Act by Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) in the House and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in the Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made passage a top priority for the new Congress.
On March 23, the North Carolina General Assembly held a special session to rush through—in less than 12 hours—legislation attacking the LGBTQ community. House Bill 2 abolished all local nondiscrimination laws that go beyond state law, leaving LGBTQ people unprotected across the state, and would force transgender people to use bathrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificates in government facilities, putting them at risk of harassment and violence.
Fresh on the heels of new anti-LGBTQ smears by outside groups trying to mislead people about pending nondiscrimination legislation, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf has signed executive orders providing non-discrimination protections for members of the LGBT community employed by or contracting with the Commonwealth.
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has signed into law one of the most extreme, sweeping anti-LGBT bills in the country, HB 1523. The law allows discrimination by individuals, religiously-affiliated organizations (including hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and more), and businesses based on religious beliefs or moral convictions regarding marriage for same-sex couples; sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage; and transgender people.
One of the most extreme, sweeping anti-LGBT bills in the country, HB 1523, is making its way through the Mississippi legislature and will reach Governor Phil Bryant’s desk within days. It would allow discrimination by individuals, religiously-affiliated organizations (including hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and more), and businesses based on religious beliefs or moral convictions regarding marriage for same-sex couples; sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage; and transgender people.
On Friday, April 1st the Kentucky Senate unanimously approved a single marriage license form, a move in stark contrast to a divisive vote on the same issue several weeks ago. The Senate had previously approved Senate Bill 5, a measure introduced by Senator Stephen West (R-Paris) that would have created separate marriage license forms for gay and straight couples in Kentucky.
BREAKING (STAY TUNED FOR MORE): Equality Federation extends our deepest thanks to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal for vetoing the discriminatory, anti-LGBT religious exemption bill (HB 757) that had passed through the legislature.
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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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