Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
I lived in San Francisco during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. It was a terrifying time full of despair, loss, and anger as we lost so many members of our community. I remember seeing the blood drive vans parked in the heart of the Castro, the city’s gay neighborhood, when gay men were turned away from donating blood to their own community in need.
As U.S. government leaders continue to grapple with addressing gun violence-prevention following last weekend’s homophobic massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, LGBTQ and gun violence-prevention advocates and activists are calling for more stringent checks to keep guns out of dangerous hands.
We the undersigned organizations working on the front lines of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) movement share in the profound grief for those who were killed and many more who were wounded during Latin Night at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Their lives were lost or forever altered in this devastating act of violence targeting LGBTQ people.
Because I work in LGBT rights, people are asking me what they can do in response to Orlando. My response: find a vigil if you need healing or want to show support. If you want to do a bit more, here’s what I’ll tell you:
Our hearts are heavy at this time and we extend our love and condolences to the friends and family of those affected by the horrific tragedy in Orlando.
President Obama and his Administration have shown great leadership in the midst of national, often nasty and negative, attention and attacks on transgender people and their families. Recent public statements made by the president and the Department of Education send an especially inspiring message to our youth; that the most powerful leaders in our nation have their back.
Equality California has filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s Aug. 25 directive prohibiting transgender people from joining the military and banning military healthcare plans from providing vital services to transgender servicemembers. Equality California is an organizational plaintiff in the lawsuit, together with seven transgender individuals impacted by the ban.
Right now, all across the country, there are dozens of outdated laws based on old stereotypes, not science, that treat people living with HIV differently. California is now leading the nation in changing course with the passage of SB 239. Federation member Equality California prioritized this legislation for 2017.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions just issued guidance granting an anti-LGBTQ “license to discriminate.” Federal government staff and contractors will now be able to claim a broad religious exemption from federal laws, rules and regulations meant to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sept 26, 2017) — After a public hearing and over five years of groundwork, the Birmingham City Council has passed a fully inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance, and Mayor William Bell has committed to signing the ordinance into law immediately.
Equality California’s #TakeIt:I’m PrEP’ed program is a statewide educational campaign to educate the LGBTQ community and healthcare providers on the availability and benefits of PrEP, the daily pill to prevent HIV, as well as other forms of HIV treatment and prevention. More broadly, this program falls under our broader efforts to end the HIV epidemic in California by “Getting to Zero” – zero new HIV transmissions, zero HIV-related deaths and zero HIV stigma.
Equality Federation applauds Transgender Law Center and Federation member Equality California for their leadership on this legislation and calls on Governor Brown to sign it into law.
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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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