Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
We are pleased to welcome our newest member organization, the Fairness Campaign in Kentucky! The Fairness Campaign has recently merged with Kentucky Fairness Alliance to create a more unified, stable, and successful LGBT equality movement in the Bluegrass State!
Members of the LGBT community are more likely than the general population to lack adequate, if any, health coverage. But as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions of LGBT people and their families will experience improvements in the quality of coverage they have—such as LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination protections—or will have access to health insurance coverage for the first time.
For too long, the LGBT community has been left out when it comes to health coverage. It has been too hard to find coverage that treats our families fairly, that covers the care we need, and that doesn't break the bank.
This is what progress looks like. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court quietly extended the freedom to marry to same-sex couples in five states.
Five years ago this week, Connecticut became the second state to secure the freedom to marry for loving, committed same-sex couples. A ruling in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health by the state Supreme Court on Oct. 10, 2008, said that same-sex couples could not be prevented from marrying.
Laws and ordinances that protect LGBT people, families, and communities are a patchwork in the USA. Our partners at the Movement Advancement Project have created a series of Equality Maps, which provide a quick snapshot of the current status of protections, state by state and issue by issue.
Today HRC reported that five new major American companies announced their support for the Equality Act. Each of these new leading corporations – American Airlines, Facebook, General Mills, Google and Nike demonstrated their belief that all Americans, including LGBT people, should have the protections from discrimination. These companies join Apple, The Dow Chemical Company, and Levi Strauss, & Co. in supporting comprehensive federal LGBT non-discrimination legislation.
Charlotte, NC - Today the Equality Act was introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in the U.S. Senate and Representative Cicilline (D-RI) in the U.S. House of Representatives, including co-sponsors Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and John Lewis (D-GA).
Equality Federation hails the momentous decision by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that Title VII of the 1967 Civil Rights Act includes protection from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Previously, the EEOC found that gender identity-based discrimination against transgender Americans is also prohibited by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Equality Federation condemns new legislation introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), that would allow individuals and organizations to discriminate against millions of Americans—including LGBT people, single mothers, unmarried couples, same-sex couples and others—based on their marital status.
In just a few days, more than 170 advocates from across the country will gather in Charlotte to connect and forge relationships, collaborate for future success, and build momentum toward even greater wins in the communities we call home.
Ronald Moore became the Vice President of Human Resources of Safe Horizon in August 2009. Ronald joined Safe Horizon after 26 years of employment in Human Resources at Hewlett Packard.
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.