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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Equality Federation Names Fran Hutchins as New Executive Director

Today, Equality Federation announced that Fran Hutchins, the organization’s current Deputy Director, will lead the organization as Executive Director starting January 1, 2021.

December 8, 2020
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Municipal Equality Index: A Nationwide Evaluation of Municipal Law

The Municipal Equality Index (MEI) examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ people who live and work there. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and the city leadership’s public position on equality.

December 3, 2020
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November 2020 Election: What Happened in the States

One of the great hopes of the 2020 Election resided in the states: would legislatures flip away from majorities of anti-LGBTQ lawmakers and become pro-equality states? Millions of dollars and years of work went into efforts to change the makeup of State Houses and Senates. Unfortunately, many states came up short, and legislatures remain largely unchanged across the country following November 3.

November 19, 2020
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Equality Federation Responds to the Results of November 2020 Election

Equality Federation responds to the historic results of the November 3, 2020 election in which media outlets announced a win for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.The following statement can be attributed to Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of Equality Federation.

November 7, 2020
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Fulton v. City of Philadelphia Hearing

On November 4 the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case (Fulton v. City of Philadelphia) that will determine whether taxpayer-funded child welfare services agencies have a right to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

November 4, 2020
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Equality Federation Denounces Confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court

Equality Federation responds to the news that the United States Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

October 27, 2020

Press Releases

The Federation Welcomes Anne Stanback as Director of State and National Partnerships

The Federation is proud to welcome Anne Stanback to our team, as Director of State and National Partnerships. Many of you already know Anne as she's spent nearly 30 years in our movement -- including spending the past year working as a consultant with us. We're thrilled that Anne will continue the work she started as a consultant -- now as a full-time staff member based in Connecticut.

September 11, 2013
Stories from the States: Basic Rights Oregon Emerges As A National Leader in Racial Justice Work Within LGBT Movements

Many Federation members across the country are committed to a broad social justice agenda, working in their communities to end all forms of oppression.Over the past few years, Basic Rights Education Fund, the 501(c)(3) arm of Basic Rights Oregon, has become a national leader for their racial justice work within LGBT movements. Knowing that for decades, the LGBT movement left out the voices, experiences, and hopes of LGBT people of color -- Basic Rights Education Fund understood the need for real change and put racial justice at the top of their agenda.

September 11, 2013
Unsung Victories: Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Missouri

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 the protection, respect, and dignity they need and deserve. These wins build critical momentum in the fight for full and lasting equality -- but we don’t often hear about them. Far too often, they go unnoticed and uncelebrated by the broader LGBT movement.

September 11, 2013
Anne Stanback

Anne Stanback is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Equality Federation, the movement builder and strategic partner to state-based organizations winning equality in the communities we call home. Anne’s primary focus is working with states to develop plans, strategies and resources to pass laws to protect LGBT people from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

September 4, 2013
Equality Federation Welcomes “Historic Announcement” from Department of Treasury, Celebrates “Unprecedented Leadership” of Obama Administration

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies regardless of whether the couple lives in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage or a jurisdiction that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

August 29, 2013
Executive Director Betsy Smith Steps Down from EqualityMaine After 14 Years of Incredible Work

Executive Director Betsy Smith has been leading EqualityMaine for fourteen years. After securing many incredible wins for LGBT Mainers, she has announced that she will soon step down from her position. Before Betsy officially leaves the Federation family (though we'll always count her as one of our own), we wanted to learn everything we could from her work and experience. So we caught up with her to talk about her successful tenure at EqualityMaine.

August 28, 2013
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