Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
The entire Equality Federation team is looking forward to connecting with our members, partners and friends at The National LGBTQ Task Force's National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change!
Today the Human Rights Campaign in partnership with Equality Federation launched the first State Equality Index which details how a patchwork of non-discrimination laws state-to-state has left millions of LGBT Americans - including those who can legally marry - without reliable protections.
About 30 parents, students and community members demonstrated in front of the Rankin County Mississippi School District administrative building to protest the school's new policy requiring parental permission before youth are able to join clubs, an effort passed in reaction to the formation of a Gay Straight Alliance. Watch the video below, and click here to read more.
Every year, the Equality Federation Institute hosts its annual Summer Meeting, bringing together LGBT movement leaders from across the country to build skills and forge connections that strengthen the incredible work that’s happening in all the communities we call home.
This statement can be attributed to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLAAD, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, United We Dream and Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, GetEQUAL, Lambda Legal, National Center for Transgender Equality, Equality Federation and National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.
In every corner of the nation, state-based groups have spent the month of June celebrating Pride. Many are using these events to grow their list; others are mobilizing supporters around a legislative or ballot campaign; still more are taking this opportunity to educate their base on critical issues facing LGBT people.
Like many of you, the Equality Federation team was glued to SCOTUS Blog yesterday morning. And like you, we were elated when the decisions were released. DOMA struck down. Marriage restored in California. A giant weight was lifted off our shoulders, and we breathed a sigh of relief. We won.
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its highly anticipated decisions in U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. In the case of U.S. v. Windsor, the Justices struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1993 policy that denies married same-sex couples equal protection under the law. In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court let stand the landmark Federal District Court ruling striking down Proposition 8.
In every state across the country, LGBT people are celebrating historic Supreme Court victories. And while our work continues, this Pride month has been one for the history books!
Today, the Supreme Court struck down a central part of the Voting Rights Act, invalidating crucial protections passed by Congress in 1965 and renewed four times in the decades since. The sharply divided decision will significantly reduce the federal government’s role in overseeing voting laws in areas with a history of discrimination against African-Americans.
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.