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 denounces North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory for signing into law the most extreme, anti-LGBTQ legislation in the country. House Bill 2 repeals Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance, prevents other towns from passing their own nondiscrimination ordinances, prevents transgender people from being able to use the restroom that matches the gender they live every day, and even prevents cities from adopting living wage ordinances.
BREAKING (Stay tuned for updates): Equality Federation calls upon North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory to veto the extreme, anti-LGBTQ legislation that was passed in the General Assembly on Wednesday. HB2 is one of the most discriminatory pieces of legislation to emerge in the country this year.
March 10th came and went without much fanfare, yet it was a milestone day for Equality Federation member Freedom Oklahoma. When the Oklahoma Legislature gaveled into session earlier this year, Oklahoma’s LGBTQ community faced a daunting challenge to overcome 27 anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation — many carried over from the previous legislation.
In state after state this year, opponents have used ever-evolving strategies to legislate anti-LGBTQ discrimination. The two most common strategies are religious exemption bills (so-called “religious freedom” bills) and bills focussed on restroom access.
Update: Equality Federation extends our deepest gratitude to the eight courageous Senators in Missouri who filibustered for a historic 39 hours to prevent a discriminatory religious exemption bill from moving forward in the legislature. SJ39 is a dangerous bill that would ask the voters of Missouri to amend their constitution to allow religious organizations and individuals to use their faith to legally justify refusing services and benefits to LGBTQ people.
Now is the time for transgender equality, and more states are doing the right thing. They are no longer forcing transgender people to have surgery or obtain court orders in order to change the gender marker on their birth certificates.
About 30 parents, students and community members demonstrated in front of the Rankin County Mississippi School District administrative building to protest the school's new policy requiring parental permission before youth are able to join clubs, an effort passed in reaction to the formation of a Gay Straight Alliance. Watch the video below, and click here to read more.
Every year, the Equality Federation Institute hosts its annual Summer Meeting, bringing together LGBT movement leaders from across the country to build skills and forge connections that strengthen the incredible work that’s happening in all the communities we call home.
Our movement is led by some of the best and brightest individuals working hard to advance equality in the communities they call home. To develop the skills of emerging, new leaders, the Victory Institute invites LGBT leaders of color and transgender leaders to apply to the 2015 Victory Empowerment Fellowship.
Today the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging same-sex marriage bans in four states in the Sixth Circuit, and a ruling is expected in June.
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. We are only two weeks into 2015, and already another state has won the freedom to marry, and another could be on its way.
Last year, Idaho and Montana became two of the 36 states (and D.C.) that now have the freedom to marry. This was a great advancement for LGBT people in these states, but it also brought about a new reality: it is now legal to marry a same-sex partner in the same state where protections against discrimination are limited.
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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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