Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Donald Trump has chosen Governor Rick Perry of Texas to be Secretary of Energy, and many are calling this his most dangerous choice yet.
Proposed anti-transgender bathroom ban laws were shot down today in Indiana and Virginia, and the House Speaker in Texas said a similar proposal was not a high priority and warned that it could be bad for business.
When opponents of equality introduce false, fear-based attacks on nondiscrimination protections, people can often lose sight of their core values.
Equality Federation applauds President Obama’s decision to commute the sentence of Chelsea Manning. She has served more time in prison than any whistleblower in United States history, and, like many other transgender prisoners, was treated unfairly on multiple occasions based on her gender identity and expression.
As lawmakers who oppose fairness for LGBTQ Americans launch their wave of discriminatory bills – from Texas to Washington – in the 2017 session, they often argue that they promoting their legislation in the name of safety for women and children who could be a risk of assault.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order today that bans anti-LGBTQ discrimination among state employees, contractors and subcontractors.
Equality Federation congratulates South Carolina Equality and all of the hardworking South Carolinians who helped ensure the defeat of S.1203, an anti-transgender bill that would have enshrined discrimination into state law by forcing transgender people to use the bathroom consistent with their biological sex, not their gender identity that they live every day, in all publicly-owned facilities including schools.
Federation member PROMO Missouri is celebrating victory as anti-LGBTQ, religious exemption legislation, SJR 39, has failed to make it out of committee rendering it dead.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed discriminatory legislation that allows counselors and therapists to refuse treatment based on their religious objections or personal beliefs. The American Counseling Association has called the legislation an “unprecedented attack” on the counseling profession.
On Thursday, April 28th, the House Armed Services Committee voted to pass a discriminatory amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act introduced by Representative Steve Russell (R-OK). The amendment applies the private employer religious exemptions of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to religious organizations receiving any federal contract or grant – which could include universities and hospitals employing thousands of people.
President Obama called for the repeal of Anti-LGBTQ bills in North Carolina and Mississippi at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister, David Cameron. The British Government recently issued a travel warning to LGBTQ tourists visiting those states.
In a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Virginia, a federal court of appeals ruled in favor of plaintiff Gavin Grimm, a transgender student at Gloucester High School who was not permitted to use the facilities and participate in the programs that match the gender he lives everyday. This is a historic victory for transgender students who, like all students, deserve a fair opportunity to fully participate and succeed in school as their authentic selves.
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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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