Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
You should feel proud today. Overall, last night was a strong rebuke of discrimination and hatred and a celebration of what makes this nation strong: our diversity.
I’m here, on the ground with the Yes on 3 campaign! I voted early and have spent the rest of my time here working with volunteers, organizers, and supporting the amazing teams they’ve built.
Equality Federation is partnering with The Last Weekend to connect you with a local campaign that is on the edge of flipping toward pro-equality candidates who will fight Trump.
My friend Veronica is an incredible woman. She is smart, funny, genuine and sarcastic (a prerequisite for all my friends). We have been an important part of each other’s lives for 20 years. That’s a lot of laughter, a lot of tears and a lot of pedicures. She is my bestie, my heart, my sister, my friend and my family, and, she is transgender.
The Trump administration has made a heartless, extremist political attack on transgender and nonbinary people. By threatening to enshrine a narrow definition of gender into law, it is clearer than ever they are willing to disregard science, medicine, and decency in order to push their own dogma.
Equality Federation recently conducted two successful regional summits and a strategy session in Connecticut, and I am so excited to tell you about them. First, our West by Midwest Leadership Summit drew 20 leaders from 9 states throughout the Midwest, from Equality Ohio to Equality Illinois.
State-based organizations across the country are making change in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people with the protection, respect and dignity they need and deserve, but far too often, these wins go unsung by the broader LGBT movement.
On November 5, the Illinois House passed the freedom to marry in a decisive 61 to 54 vote, following Senate passage on Valentine’s Day earlier this year. On November 20, Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill into law and gave committed same-sex couples across the state the protection and dignity they deserve.
Last month, we welcomed an incredible group of state leaders to our Midwest Leadership Summit in Chicago.
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.
The gross irony that Native Americans are being abused by overzealous police during Thanksgiving has not been lost on Equality Federation. For this #SolidarityWednesday we encourage you to consider donating to one of the organizations supporting the protestors at Standing Rock in the Dakotas who are fighting to preserve the land and water for future generations.
In recent months, Assembly Bill 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act, was passed by both chambers of the California legislature and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. This bill restates existing anti-discrimination law requiring that transgender students, like all students, be provided with a safe and supportive school environment where they can succeed.
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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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