Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Explore why aging must be part of the LGBTQ movement’s work in this guest post by Dan Stewart, Program Coordinator of SAGE of PROMO Fund (our Missouri member organization) featuring a fabulous FEDTalk by PROMO executive director Steph Perkins!
Equality Federation’s Executive Director Rebecca Isaacs provided commentary, analysis, and background information for this in-depth article from VOX about what a year under Trump has meant for the LGBTQ community.
In the last five years, Equality Federation has grown by leaps and bounds! Our strategic growth has allowed us to roll out field and targeting support to all 50 states, increase our ability to track and provide rapid response during state legislative sessions, and grow our leadership programs to include training and support for fundraising, communications, and organizing staff of member groups.
President Trump’s reported decision to upend Health and Human Services (HHS) rules could create a dangerous license to discriminate, and while LGBTQ people and our families along with anyone seeking reproductive health services are no doubt the targets of this overhaul, any person or family could be at risk of discrimination as a result.
The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to issue a ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case involving a business asking the Court for a Constitutional right to refuse service to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
Today New York’s legislature passed GENDA, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, that will ensure New Yorkers are protected from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression in employment, housing, and public accommodations. The legislature also passed a ban on the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy.
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.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that ensures the enforcement of federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate on specified grounds against a job applicant or an employee has announced two lawsuits alleging anti-gay discrimination.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael delivered a tearful floor speech in support of a “civil rights amendment” to an anti-LGBTQ religious exemption bill, #HB4012, to prevent the bill from being used to discriminate. The amendment passed, and on Wednesday, March 2nd, the entire bill was killed in a 27-7 vote.
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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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