Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
On Wednesday last week, Colorado House Bill 1013, a religious exemption bill, died in committee for the third year in a row. The bill, the Colorado Freedom of Conscience Protection Act, was essentially a state RFRA.
Last year Federation member Freedom Oklahoma led the defeat of 27 anti-LGBTQ bills, and this year they are ready to continue their winning streak on behalf of every Oklahoman who values fairness and equality for all. Earlier this week, they hosted 150 people interested in advocating for equality.
On Thursday last week, Wyoming’s state legislature withdrew House Bill 135. HB135 would have allowed businesses, state and local governments to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
438 civil and human rights organizations, including Equality Federation, have signed onto a letter from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to express our strong opposition to the confirmation of Senator Jefferson B. Sessions (R-AL) to be the 84th Attorney General of the United States.
Equality Federation stands in solidarity with immigrants, refugees, and their families today as the Trump Administration launches an attack on millions of people’s freedoms and civil liberties.
Today Lt. Governor Dan Patrick introduced a bill cosponsored by Senator Lois Kolkhorst, that would discriminate against transgender people under the guise of protecting women’s and students’ privacy. The bill would ban transgender people from using the restroom that matches the gender they live as every day and ban cities and towns from passing nondiscrimination ordinances that protect transgender people from discrimination.
Equality Federation denounces North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory for signing into law the most extreme, anti-LGBTQ legislation in the country. House Bill 2 repeals Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance, prevents other towns from passing their own nondiscrimination ordinances, prevents transgender people from being able to use the restroom that matches the gender they live every day, and even prevents cities from adopting living wage ordinances.
BREAKING (Stay tuned for updates): Equality Federation calls upon North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory to veto the extreme, anti-LGBTQ legislation that was passed in the General Assembly on Wednesday. HB2 is one of the most discriminatory pieces of legislation to emerge in the country this year.
March 10th came and went without much fanfare, yet it was a milestone day for Equality Federation member Freedom Oklahoma. When the Oklahoma Legislature gaveled into session earlier this year, Oklahoma’s LGBTQ community faced a daunting challenge to overcome 27 anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation — many carried over from the previous legislation.
In state after state this year, opponents have used ever-evolving strategies to legislate anti-LGBTQ discrimination. The two most common strategies are religious exemption bills (so-called “religious freedom” bills) and bills focussed on restroom access.
Update: Equality Federation extends our deepest gratitude to the eight courageous Senators in Missouri who filibustered for a historic 39 hours to prevent a discriminatory religious exemption bill from moving forward in the legislature. SJ39 is a dangerous bill that would ask the voters of Missouri to amend their constitution to allow religious organizations and individuals to use their faith to legally justify refusing services and benefits to LGBTQ people.
Now is the time for transgender equality, and more states are doing the right thing. They are no longer forcing transgender people to have surgery or obtain court orders in order to change the gender marker on their birth certificates.
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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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