Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Federation member Georgia Equality caught this fascinating, must-watch, moment of debate over the “licence to discriminate” bill, HB 757, in which Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur asked Sen. Greg Kirk, R-Americus, if the bill would give cover to the KKK on religious grounds.
The nation’s major child advocacy groups (including American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American School Counselor Association, Child Welfare League of America, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, and the National Education Association) have issued an open letter to governors asking that they veto any anti-transgender youth legislation that lands on their desk.
Today, after its passage in the Georgia Senate, Equality Federation called upon the House to reject taking action on HB 757, a wide-reaching and harmful piece of legislation which demolishes the time-honored separation of Church and State and allows faith-based organizations that receive taxpayer funding to deny critical services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, single mothers, and others; if they feel certain people conflict with their religious belief of marriage as between one man and one woman.
South Dakota’s Senate voted on Tuesday, 20-15, to approve a bill that would prevent transgender students from using the facilities that match the gender of which they identify and live. The bill has already passed in the House, and is awaiting the Governor’s action.
Last week, Governor Cuomo of New York announced regulations that will ban public and private healthcare insurers from covering so-called gay conversion therapy and prohibit state mental health facilities from conducting the controversial practice on minors. This is big news.
In a close 25-24 vote, the Washington Senate today shut down an anti-transgender bill, SB 6443, that would have undone the state’s regulations that ensure transgender people are able to use the facilities that match their gender identity.
Our fourth FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Ted Martin, Executive Director at Equality Pennsylvania.
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.
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.
LGBT individuals often face barriers to obtaining affordable and necessary health care. With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) soon to be implemented, many of your supporters are probably asking you questions about how the law will impact their access to health care.
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.
Our third FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Vinita Chaudhry, Intern at Empire State Pride Agenda.
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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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