Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
After seven years with the Federation, our wonderful colleague Renée Perry is stepping down from her position as Director of Operations. During her time with us, Renée has kept our completely distributed organization running smoothly across four time zones.
Resources are often scarce for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. For transgender individuals, there is often an increased barrier to accessing resources when attempting to find adequate healthcare, attain name change documents, or simply find a safe space to discuss trans-related issues.
Over the past several months, we have seen great changes in the state-based LGBT movement. Marriage wins continue in states across the country, and national attention is shifting to work in places where LGBT people aren’t protected from discrimination.
In 2013, 76% of intimate partner violence homicide victims were gay men. Gay men, LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities of color, LGBTQ and HIV-affected youth and young adults, bisexual survivors, and transgender communities are the groups most impacted by intimate partner violence (IPV).
For many of our movement’s state-based organizations, funding is always stretched too thin.Groups continue to make progress, but there is always more work to be done and more support that can be provided.
Each day, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students face ongoing hostile school climates that impact their safety and mental health. Equality Federation and our members are working to build safe and just schools for LGBT youth nationwide so that students can learn, grow, and thrive.
When Equality Federation Institute was looking for a city to host our annual Summer Meeting, we were looking for a place that embodies our commitment to working locally, to building a true grassroots movement, and to winning big, even when it’s hard.We found it all in Minneapolis, with member organization OutFront Minnesota as our host.
Our movement has secured historic victories in recent years because of the passion and commitment of activists and leaders who are creating incredible change in the communities they call home.
When the legislative session began in Utah this year, Equality Utah (EQUT) felt prepared to pass a nondiscrimination bill -- they had spent years building relationships on both sides of the aisle, had worked closely with the LDS church, and were planning to run a robust legislative campaign to show lawmakers that the public supports a law allowing gay and transgender Utahns to live free from discrimination in housing and employment.
When individuals go to work each day, they want to be judged on their professionalism, their experience, their performance, and their ability to get the job done. By working hard, meeting their responsibilities and playing by the rules, they strive for a fair chance to achieve a piece of the American Dream.
Minnesota’s bullying prevention law had long been considered one of the country’s weakest. Now, it’s one of the strongest. After more than a decade of tireless work and countless battles over the details of the proposed bill -- at 12:20 am on Wednesday, April 9, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Safe & Supportive Minnesota Schools Act by a vote of 69 to 63, following almost 12 hours of debate by Republicans.
Since its founding in 2010, One Colorado has celebrated a number of major victories -- from protecting LGBTQ students in their schools to securing civil unions for same-sex couples to removing barriers that transgender Coloradans face in getting the health care they need. In early 2014, One Colorado welcomed its second-ever executive director: Dave Montez. We reached out to Dave to talk with him about his experience and his plans for One Colorado.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
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.
.png)
