Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
This legislative session, we’ve hired a Policy Fellow to analyze the impact of proposed policies related to the LGBTQ community in all 50 states at the state legislative level. After a wide search with numerous qualified applicants, this week we welcomed Maryse Pearce to the team.
Today the Trump Administration took a giant step back from their previously stated commitment to champion fairness and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
In late January, South Dakota’s SB115, was withdrawn from the senate. The bill, which would have banned transgender students from fully participating in school programs and using the facilities that matched the gender they live every day, was pulled by its sponsor right before its hearing on January 31st.
Equality Federation joins Equality Florida in applauding the Jacksonville, FL City Council for banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender expression.
In early February, the South Dakota legislature introduced SB149, a FADA (First Amendment Defense Act) style adoption bill. Despite the bill’s sponsor’s claim to the contrary, the impact of the legislation is clear. This bill will allow taxpayer funded adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
Did you know that bisexual-identified people comprise more than half of the LGB community? In fact, recent polls suggest that one-third of young people don’t identify as straight or gay or lesbian. When communicating with your members, the public, law makers, or the media, a simple and powerful way to include this enormous, but often invisible, population is to add examples of how various policies impact the lives of bisexual people. Here are a few simple examples.
With all the excitement and energy around recent marriage equality wins, it can be easy to forget that despite our monumental progress on marriage, LGBT people are still under attack in many places.
This year, we’re celebrating more than family, friends, food and exciting progress in the fight for LGBT equality. Why? Because December is also about health. Your health. Your family’s health. Your friends’ health. Our community’s health.
In West Virginia, the LGBT community remains hidden far too often. The stories of individuals facing employment discrimination as they work hard to earn a living, of couples struggling to take care of one another because they’re denied the freedom to marry, have been left untold for far too long.
Since 2006, the State of the States report by the Equality Federation has documented the strength and sustainability of state-based advocacy organizations that advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
I remember when I first became Executive Director at Equality North Carolina; like most Executive Directors, I was facing a number of substantial gaps in my skill set. While I had learned a lot about state politics and built a good network in the state, I had no idea how to read a financial statement, and managing staff was a brand new challenge for me. There were even some things I didn't realize that I didn't know.
Since 2006, the State of the States report by the Equality Federation has documented the strength and sustainability of state-based advocacy organizations that advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
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.