News & Resources

Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.

The Latest

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New Report Offers Look at Lives of LGBT People of Color in Rural America, Shattering Stereotypes of Life in Rural Communities

Des Moines, IA—Media coverage often portrays rural America as singularly white, conservative and working-class. Yet at least 10 million people of color, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of color, call rural America home.

September 19, 2019
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Building Trans Political Power

Our Legislative Action Center curated a conversation about building trans political power with experts Emmett Schelling, Executive Director at Transgender Education Network of Texas, and Dylan Waguespack, president of the board of directors for Louisiana Trans Advocates. Check out some of the highlights from our conversation.

September 6, 2019
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Meet the Equality Federation's Newest Team Member

Dione Friends joined Equality Federation as Director of Communications in August 2019. Prior to joining Equality Federation, she spent eight years on the communications team at the ACLU of Texas, where she substantially grew their digital presence, communications capacity, and ability to reach people offline.

September 5, 2019
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Where We Call Home: LGBT People of Color in Rural America

Media coverage often portrays rural America as singularly white, conservative and working-class. Yet at least 10 million people of color, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of color, call rural America home.

September 1, 2019
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15 States Say It’s Legal to Fire LGBTQ People

15 states filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking them to rule against three individuals who were fired for being LGBTQ. The three cases include the first transgender civil rights case to be heard by the high court on October 8th.

August 30, 2019
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Live Blog: Leadership Conference #EqFed19

The 22nd annual gathering of the Leadership Conference is here, who’s ready? Shortly, Equality Federation and Fairness Campaign will co-host over 200+ LGBTQ state and national movement leaders in Louisville, KY [press release].

July 17, 2019

Press Releases

2020 Legislative Session Recap

The 2020 legislative session has been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the current coronavirus crisis, many state legislatures have either suspended session or are focusing primarily on pandemic relief bills.

May 14, 2020
Meet Our Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement

As Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, Vivian Topping works with state-based LGBTQ organizations to craft smart, effective legislative and electoral campaigns.

May 11, 2020
Tell the FDA to lift the blood donation ban on gay and bisexual people

Earlier this month, the FDA decided to relax its rule of banning donations from gay men, bisexual men, and trans people from 12 months to 3 months. This is a good start but it's not a win. Any ban based solely on identity is wrong.

April 27, 2020
LGBTQ People Must Condemn Violence Against Asian-Americans

Emmett Schelling, Executive Director of TENT: Being an immigrant born in South Korea always plays a factor in who I am and how I am treated in America. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the xenophobia that I am experiencing related to the pandemic is heartbreaking.

April 22, 2020
Second Open Letter About COVID-19 and LGBTQ+ Communities

As we move further into population level interventions and continue to grapple with care shortages and economic harms as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the undersigned LGBTQ+ and allied organizations call upon public health authorities, health care institutions, government agencies and policymakers to address the following concerns.

April 21, 2020
Historic Victory in Virginia!

We can officially celebrate! Governor Northam's signature made Virginia the first state in the South and 21st in the nation to ensure LGBTQ people are explicitly protected from discrimination.

April 13, 2020
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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.