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, just 30 minutes after the Supreme Court announced its decision striking down section 3 the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, a New York judge halted the deportation of a Colombian man married to a gay American citizen.
July has arrived, and this year’s Summer Meeting will be here before we know it! Are you ready to come to Salt Lake City?Have you signed up yet? Make sure you click here to register before July 15 to guarantee your spot!
This statement can be attributed to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLAAD, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, United We Dream and Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, GetEQUAL, Lambda Legal, National Center for Transgender Equality, Equality Federation and National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.
In every corner of the nation, state-based groups have spent the month of June celebrating Pride. Many are using these events to grow their list; others are mobilizing supporters around a legislative or ballot campaign; still more are taking this opportunity to educate their base on critical issues facing LGBT people.
Like many of you, the Equality Federation team was glued to SCOTUS Blog yesterday morning. And like you, we were elated when the decisions were released. DOMA struck down. Marriage restored in California. A giant weight was lifted off our shoulders, and we breathed a sigh of relief. We won.
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its highly anticipated decisions in U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. In the case of U.S. v. Windsor, the Justices struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1993 policy that denies married same-sex couples equal protection under the law. In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court let stand the landmark Federal District Court ruling striking down Proposition 8.
Equality Florida made historic progress by achieving a committee hearing on The Florida Competitive Workforce Act (HB 45/SB 120). It was the first time a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill had such a hearing in Florida.
Two anti-LGBTQ bills were defeated on February 9th in Virginia thanks to the hard work of Federation member Equality Virginia and many advocates on the ground who bravely shared their stories and asked their legislators to stand for fairness.
As our organization headed into 2016, it felt a bit like deja vu. Once again, we were preparing for a possible historic year in the fight for full equality for LGBTQ Floridians!
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court’s historic ruling establishing nationwide marriage equality masks a stark and persistent reality: a patchwork of state and local non-discrimination laws continues to leave millions of LGBT Americans – including those who are legally married – without reliable protections from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, according to a report released today by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization.
Equality Federation is currently tracking over 200 bills, at least 150 of which are anti-LGBTQ, throughout the country. Oklahoma leads the pack with 27 anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation up for consideration by lawmakers this session.
In the world of LGBT legislation, the biggest trends this season are marriage and bathrooms. Through our newly launched Legislative Action Center, the Federation is currently tracking an unprecedented 200 bills, including a slew of anti-transgender bills that focus on preventing public facility use in 11 states and religious exemption bills targeting marriage in over a dozen states.
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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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