Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
From the fall of 2018 through spring 2019, Equality Federation members across the country played important roles in registering and turning out hundreds of thousands of voters to elect pro-equality candidates and win ballot measures. But what we learned as the national partner to these groups is that it isn’t just during elections that they need volunteers and donors to advance their missions — state-based equality organizations need this year round.
Words fall short to describe the woman who led some of the fiercest legal battles in service of making this country more just — more equal.
Yesterday at the kick-off of Equality Federation’s virtual Leadership Conference, I made the bittersweet announcement that after a long and wonderful run, I have decided to step down at the end of 2020—on my 10th anniversary—as leader of the Equality Federation. It has been a great honor to not only serve in this position for a decade but also to have been involved with the Equality Federation from its very inception.
Today in a historic 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that employers can’t unfairly fire or otherwise discriminate against LGBTQ people in the workplace.
ALOK and Vivian Topping from Equality Federation teamed up to share some important updates with you about anti-transgender legislative trends from around the country.
We, the undersigned, recognize we cannot remain neutral, nor will awareness substitute for action. The LGBTQ community knows about the work of resisting police brutality and violence.
The Program Associate will support the Equality Federation’s development and communications departments (60%), annual Leadership Conference (10%), board of directors (20%), and our day-to-day operations (10%). The Program Associate will work from a home office and travel 3-4 weeks a year. This position reports to the Executive Director with ongoing coordination with the Development, Communications and Leadership Program Directors.
With barely a moment to take a deep breath, the LGBTQ community is back in the trenches, ready to fight for equality and justice in a critical legislative year. Immediately following a historic victory on marriage, after the balloons and confetti, we faced a tide of anti-LGBTQ attacks.
Today, Equality Federation launched the Legislative Action Center (LAC). The LAC will empower state-based LGBTQ organizations to hold their ground during turbulent state legislative sessions while also winning nondiscrimination protections and other important policy advances for LGBTQ people and their families.
Equality Federation supports commuting Chelsea Manning’s court-martial sentence to time served and calls on President Obama to grant her clemency petition. Chelsea has served longer than anyone else with similar charges, and as a transgender woman, has been treated inhumanely and denied fair treatment.
Equality Federation and a coalition of 13 other LGBT, racial justice, and health equity organizations have filed an amicus brief in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down draconian restrictions on abortion providers enacted by the State of Texas in 2013 which, if upheld, would lead to the closing of most abortion clinics in the state. The brief urges the Court to carefully scrutinize the state’s asserted justification for the law, just as the Court has done with other laws that infringe upon fundamental freedoms.
Last year we reported that 17 anti-LGBTQ bills were defeated in Oklahoma thanks to the hard work of Freedom Oklahoma and the many advocates and allies on the ground working for equality. It was an incredible feat in a very challenging political environment; most of the legislators in Oklahoma lean conservative.
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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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