Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Equality Federation has condemned Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam for signing HB 1111/SB 1085, requiring that all words in Tennesee state code be defined as their so-called “natural” or “biological” meanings.
Today President Trump signed a troubling and unnecessary executive order (full text below) that directs the Justice Department to draft religious exemptions guidelines that could promote anti-LGBT discrimination, promotes limiting access to contraception, and promotes partisan political spending by churches.
Governor Kay Ivey has signed the discriminatory bill, deceptively named the Alabama Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act, into law.
President Trump is rumored to be planning on signing a religious exemptions executive order on Thursday that would give license to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans and their families.
Equality Federation hails the introduction of the Equality Act which would provide comprehensive federal protections against discrimination for LGBTQ Americans and their families. Led by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), 40 senators introduced the Act in the Senate and, simultaneously, led by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), 158 representatives filed legislation in the House.
The Heart of Dixie has grown colder today. This afternoon, the Alabama House of Representatives passed HB24, deceptively named the Alabama Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act, on a 87-0 vote with 6 abstaining. The bill now heads to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk.
A Michigan pediatrician has refused to care for the baby of a lesbian couple, a sad illustration of why every state needs inclusive nondiscrimination laws that do not have loopholes that could put lives in danger. Currently, 206 million people live in a state that does not have nondiscrimination laws to fully protect gay and transgender people.
Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant have been together almost 31 years, and this morning they were married in Texas! A Travis County Judge ordered the clerk to issue the license, citing a serious health condition of one of the women.
Good news for Federation members from the Arcus Foundation! They have announced that applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Arcus Leadership Fellowship.
Equality Federation is proud to have had the opportunity to learn, share knowledge, and mingle with advocates from across the country at the LGBTQ Task Force's Creating Change Conference recently held in Denver, Colorado. (See photos from the conference below!)
On July 4, 1999, I left Alabama, the state I had called home for my entire life. Since the moment that I pulled away from my childhood home in a car packed to the gills, I have considered that day my own personal Independence Day.
State-based organizations across the country are advancing major progress in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people with the protection, respect, and dignity they need and deserve, but far too often, these wins are unrecognized by the broader community.
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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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