Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Two additional bills targeting LGBTQ people have failed in the South Dakota Legislature. SB 160, which would have prohibited classroom instruction of gender expression or identity, and SB 202, which would have required all public restrooms to have a sign posted giving notice that a person of the “opposite sex” may be in the restroom, were both killed or voted down with bipartisan support.
The Education Department has said it will not investigate or take action on any complaints of discrimination filed by transgender students who are not permitted to use the facilities that match their gender identity.
Four bills that would have updated Virginia’s laws to include LGBTQ people in nondiscrimination protections were killed in a committee despite the broad support of fair-minded Virginians. Two of the bills had passed in the state’s Senate with 75% of the vote.
This is urgent. Trump’s extremist, anti-LGBTQ nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Stuart Kyle Duncan, could be confirmed as soon as Wednesday.
Explore why aging must be part of the LGBTQ movement’s work in this guest post by Dan Stewart, Program Coordinator of SAGE of PROMO Fund (our Missouri member organization) featuring a fabulous FEDTalk by PROMO executive director Steph Perkins!
Equality Federation’s Executive Director Rebecca Isaacs provided commentary, analysis, and background information for this in-depth article from VOX about what a year under Trump has meant for the LGBTQ community.
On Oct 8, activists, allies, and leaders gathered outside the Supreme Court to show support for the plaintiffs inside who were standing for the rights of all LGBTQ people.
On October 8 the U.S. Supreme Court heard three cases about LGBTQ employment discrimination that will determine if federal law protects LGBTQ people. The Supreme Court will consider how Title VII’s ban on workplace sex discrimination protects LGBTQ people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review on Oct. 4, 2019. The rule is titled “Ensuring Equal Treatment for Faith-Based Organizations.”
Here are a few takeaways from the report that paints a picture of an often overlooked segment of our population.
The LGBTQ community is no stranger to state overreach – when legislatures swoop in to eradicate local nondiscrimination measures or take other sweeping actions that, ultimately, hurt our ability to live, work, and raise our families free from discrimination. In fact, the first time most Americans even became aware of the concept of preemption legislation was when North Carolina enacted HB 2 – the discriminatory law that attacked the very humanity of transgender people, and eviscerated local nondiscrimination measures across the Tar Heel state.
Chrissy Etienne joined Equality Federation in October 2019 as the organizations first Digital Strategist and Kairos Fellow.
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.