Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
All of us at Equality Federation are proud to welcome Mark Snyder to our team as Director of Communications. He will begin working at the Federation next month, and is looking forward to connecting with many of you very soon.
After seven years with the Federation, our wonderful colleague Renée Perry is stepping down from her position as Director of Operations. During her time with us, Renée has kept our completely distributed organization running smoothly across four time zones.
Since 2006, the State of the States report by Equality Federation has documented the strength and sustainability of state-based advocacy organizations that advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the communities they call home. Over the past eight years, State of the States has faithfully documented our movement’s triumphs and trials as reflected in the capacity of our state-based organizations.
Over the past several months, we have seen great changes in the state-based LGBT movement. Marriage wins continue in states across the country, and national attention is shifting to work in places where LGBT people aren’t protected from discrimination.
Resources are often scarce for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. For transgender individuals, there is often an increased barrier to accessing resources when attempting to find adequate healthcare, attain name change documents, or simply find a safe space to discuss trans-related issues.
Each day, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students face ongoing hostile school climates that impact their safety and mental health. Equality Federation and our members are working to build safe and just schools for LGBT youth nationwide so that students can learn, grow, and thrive.
The State Equality Index (SEI) is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that affect LGBT people and their families. The SEI rates all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. in six areas and assigns the states to one of four distinct categories.
Texas, Kentucky, and Florida have anti-transgender bills making their way through the legislative process. The bills could have very real, harmful consequences for transgender people and anyone else who may not fit in with the narrow assumptions some people have about how a man or woman is expected to appear.
On March 5th, more than 300 Republicans filed a friend of the court brief at the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage nationwide. Organized by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, the amicus brief was filed for the four same-sex marriage cases the Court will hear on April 28th that could legalize marriage nationwide.
SAN FRANCISCO - Today, Equality Federation hails the progress made by Federation member Equality Utah in bringing together faith and political leaders to draft nondiscrimination legislation, Senate Bill 296, to ensure no hardworking Utahn is unfairly fired from a job or denied a place to live.
A year and a half ago, I flew to Tulsa to work with The Equality Network. At that time, TEN was a small organization of committed volunteers. While they were doing remarkable work with few resources, they recognized it was time to grow so they could have an even bigger impact on their state.
Just last week, former Georgia Republican Attorney General and prominent GOP leader Michael Bowers joined the fight over the proposed Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the Peach State, but not on the side you would expect.Bowers, who is well known for defending anti-gay sodomy laws in the Supreme Court’s 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick decision, is now standing on the right side of history and supporting those who believe in fairness for all.
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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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