Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
On July 4, 1999, I left Alabama, the state I had called home for my entire life. Since the moment that I pulled away from my childhood home in a car packed to the gills, I have considered that day my own personal Independence Day.
State-based organizations across the country are advancing major progress 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 are unrecognized by the broader community.
With incomplete nondiscrimination protections in 32 states and misleading religious exemption bills popping up across the country that would create loopholes allowing unfair treatment and discrimination against gay and transgender people, it is increasingly important that we raise awareness about the need for complete nondiscrimination protections for all people. Despite the momentous victories for the freedom to marry, many people remain unaware that there is still work to do to ensure full equality under the law.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Alabama Attorney General’s request for a stay on a judge’s ruling allowing same-sex marriage in Alabama. This should clear the way for same-sex marriage to begin next week unless the Supreme Court intervenes.
D.W. Trantham testified in support of a bill that would ensure LGBT citizens of Idaho were protected from discrimination in its statewide human rights law. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated. Idaho is one of the 32 states that urgently need to update their laws so that all people, including LGBT, people are protected from discrimination. Get involved in our #DiscriminationExists campaign to learn more about where your state stands and what you can do to help.
While efforts to address anti-LGBT bullying have been getting a lot of attention these last few years, more and more we're coming to understand that un-addressed bullying and harassment is just one of many ways that LGBT young people—and especially LGBT youth of color—are being systematically pushed out of the education system and into poverty, homelessness, or the criminal justice system. Equality Federation Institute is proud to be working with state equality groups to address the critical issue of school pushout.
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) brings about new questions and concerns for the LGBT community and access to healthcare. For this reason, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has called for information regarding the necessary inclusion of gender identity and sexual orientation-based discrimination under the sex-based nondiscrimination protections included in Section 1557.
Washington, DC — On September 27, in support of National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, hundreds of organizations and individuals have signed onto a joint letter (http://www.wethelgbt.org) to re-engage with the broader LGBT community in the fight against HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gay men, bisexual men, and men who have sex with men accounted for 63% of the new HIV infections in 2010. In fact, gay men are the only group in which HIV infections are increasing.
Founded in 1984, EqualityMaine is the largest LGBT organization in Maine, with a $500,000 budget and 5.25 FTE staff. It is headquartered in Portland, ME, with a satellite office in Brewer ME. The Executive Director will lead this highly respected and historically successful organization into its new future, following the passage of marriage equality in Maine in 2012.
Too often, LGBT immigrants are forced into two closets — one because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and the other because of their immigration status. At the Federation, we believe that it’s time for all immigrants, including at least 267,000 LGBT immigrants, to be able to come out of the shadows. And we believe that our members can be a powerful voice in helping this dream become a reality.
Great organizations need great leaders — and they need them to stick around a little while. For years, the turnover rate in our statewide LGBT advocacy groups has been high, and in 2010, Equality Federation Institute identified this challenge as one of our organizational priorities. Committed to addressing this turnover, particularly among executive directors, we began tracking executive tenure and rolling out new programs to help ensure that state leaders were thriving.
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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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