Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
The LGBT movement is shifting. We are seeing the tides changing from a focus on marriage to one of states working for protections in nondiscrimination, safe schools, immigration, healthcare, and beyond. But what is constant throughout this change is the intersectionality of our work, and the need to look at each issue through multiple lenses.
On Monday, March 2nd, U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon ruled Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional calling it an "unabashedly gender-specific infringement of the equal rights of its citizens."
Equality Federation expresses our strong solidarity with the the family of Freddie Gray, local community leaders, and many community protesters in Baltimore, as well as those raising their voices across the country. We are also calling for meaningful, systemic change so that no lives are lost or negatively impacted in the future by mass incarceration or police brutality.
A bill that would have made it illegal for any transgender person to use a restroom that did not match their gender assigned at birth has failed in Florida. HB 583, the “Single-Sex Public Facilities” bill, or Florida’s “Bathroom Bill,” introduced by State Representative Frank Artiles, was aimed to punish transgender individuals.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the LGBT* in the South Conference, hosted by Campaign for Southern Equality in Asheville, North Carolina.About 500 people from around the region gathered for two days of peer learning and collaboration.
Last month, Equality Federation and our partner Campaign for Southern Equality filed an amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to act quickly to ensure the freedom to marry across the nation.
Our fifth FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Marina Santiago, Intern at Equality Texas.
Our fourth FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Ted Martin, Executive Director at Equality Pennsylvania.
Selecting the right executive director can be a make-or-break moment for our member organizations -- because our movement is only as strong as our leaders.But many of our members just don't have the resources to invest in a professional search firm. While the Federation can't offer that level of service, we are able to help groups manage these transitions more effectively.
Each year our Annual Summer Meeting brings LGBT leaders from across the nation together to share ideas and forge connections. At this year’s Meeting, we introduced a new session that quickly became a breakout star of the conference: FEDtalks.
Our third FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Vinita Chaudhry, Intern at Empire State Pride Agenda.
In Massachusetts, 1 in 4 lesbian or gay teens and 15% of bisexual teens are homeless. Because of high rates of discrimination against the transgender population, rates of homelessness among transgender youth are even higher. These rates, coupled with the fact that the Massachusetts shelter system is not organized adequately to serve these young people, spurred MassEquality into action. The organization made youth homelessness a top priority, knowing it warranted immediate and aggressive attention.
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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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