Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
South Dakota Governor Dauggard met with transgender students on Tuesday, February 23rd, just days before he needs to make a decision on signing an extreme, anti-transgender bill (HB 1008) that would require students to undergo DNA, Birth Certificate, or genital checks and force them to use restrooms and facilities that do not match the gender they live every day. South Dakota would become the first state to enact such a law if he signs it.
Equality Federation extends a hearty congratulations to Federation member Equality North Carolina, HRC, MeckPAC and the TurnOUT! Charlotte coalition for making history tonight with Charlotte’s passage of nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in public accommodations, vehicles for hire, and in government contracting. And, thank you to the Charlotte City Council!
Steve Knight, pastor of social justice and activism at Missiongathering Charlotte, spoke passionately in favor of the nondiscrimination ordinance passed by the Charlotte City Council on February 22nd.
Things are moving quickly in Georgia, having passed the half-way point of our legislative session just last week. Georgia Equality, through our campaign Georgia Unites Against Discrimination, is currently focusing our attention on stopping House Bill 757.
Federation member Georgia Equality caught this fascinating, must-watch, moment of debate over the “licence to discriminate” bill, HB 757, in which Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur asked Sen. Greg Kirk, R-Americus, if the bill would give cover to the KKK on religious grounds.
The nation’s major child advocacy groups (including American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American School Counselor Association, Child Welfare League of America, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, and the National Education Association) have issued an open letter to governors asking that they veto any anti-transgender youth legislation that lands on their desk.
As efforts to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination intensify, LGBT social justice organizations’ revenues experienced a decline in revenue for the first time since the Great Recession of 2007-2008. According to a new report (below) by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), despite the decrease in revenue, leading LGBT social justice organizations are projecting combined 2015 expense budgets totaling $189.6 million, a 12% increase from 2014 expenses.
Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance honoring the transgender people we’ve lost, often due to violence. This year, at least 23 transgender women were murdered in the United States and 81 worldwide.
In early November, over 30 leaders representing Equality Illinois, OutFront Minnesota, Equality New Mexico, Equality Ohio, PROMO (Missouri), Equality Pennsylvania, and Equality Utah gathered in Chicago for Equality Federation’s West by Midwest Leadership Summit.
Equality Federation is concerned Indiana’s Senate Bill 100, introduced by Senate Republicans, would not cover many Hoosiers from discrimination. While the authors are framing the bill as nondiscrimination legislation, it includes broad exemptions allowing discrimination by a host of organizations and businesses.
The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund has released The Voting Rights Toolkit for LGBTQ Advocates ahead of upcoming November and presidential primary elections. The new toolkit, which contains information as diverse as voter assistance guides to an overview of restrictive voting practices, is available online at: http://thetaskforceactionfund.org/vra/
MTV’s True Life: I’m Genderqueer premiers tonight and features Jacob Tobias, who spoke at Equality Federation’s Summer Meeting this July, and other young leaders who are bravely sharing their stories.
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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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