Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
July 17-20th, Equality Federation and Fairness Campaign will co-host the 22nd annual Leadership Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The conference is the premier gathering of LGBTQ movement leaders focusing on the crucial work of winning equality in state legislatures and local communities across the country.
This year’s Pride Month marks the 49th anniversary of Pride, and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The nearly week-long protest took place in June 1969 in response to ongoing police raids at gay bars and clubs, and is now what most people consider to be the catalyst for the gay rights movement.
On March 13, 2019 bipartisan members of Congress introduced the Equality Act, which would update federal law to include express and enduring nondiscrimination protections for Americans based on sexual orientation and gender identity across virtually every area of daily life. It also includes protections from discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin, and religion that are additional to those already afforded under federal law.
Growing up in Alabama, I loved visiting the farm where my dad was raised. We’d ride four wheelers, hunt, fish, and all pitch in during hay season. Well, mostly my cousins and I got in the way. In some ways, I felt at home in the country, as my family called it.
Dear Supporters,In 2018, our 43 state-based member organizations made a lot of headway despite the tough political struggles at the national level. Equality Federation is a strategic partner to our member organizations, making sure that the whole movement for LGBTQ equality and justice is linked, from one end of the country to the other.
Big congrats to Freedom Oklahoma!The organization has recently welcomed their new executive director Allie Shinn.
My friend Veronica is an incredible woman. She is smart, funny, genuine and sarcastic (a prerequisite for all my friends). We have been an important part of each other’s lives for 20 years. That’s a lot of laughter, a lot of tears and a lot of pedicures. She is my bestie, my heart, my sister, my friend and my family, and, she is transgender.
The Trump administration has made a heartless, extremist political attack on transgender and nonbinary people. By threatening to enshrine a narrow definition of gender into law, it is clearer than ever they are willing to disregard science, medicine, and decency in order to push their own dogma.
Equality Federation recently conducted two successful regional summits and a strategy session in Connecticut, and I am so excited to tell you about them. First, our West by Midwest Leadership Summit drew 20 leaders from 9 states throughout the Midwest, from Equality Ohio to Equality Illinois.
Last week I traveled to Massachusetts to work with the country’s first ever statewide ballot campaign to uphold protections for the transgender community. The campaign is running an impressive operation, from building a massive volunteer-driven voter contact program to putting up some of the best television ads making the case for dignity and respect under the law.
Earlier this month, I participated in something historic: for the first time ever, LGBTQ leaders from across North Dakota came together to connect, strategize and build a strong movement in their state. Equality Federation member organization North Dakota Human Rights Coalition and their partner Dakota Outright hosted nearly 80 people in Bizmarck for the inaugural North Dakota LGBTQ+ Summit.
In this political moment, as we face unprecedented challenges to fairness, justice, and democracy at the federal level, we look to localities to lead the way in advancing equality for the LGBTQ community. Equality Federation is committed to our partnership with HRC on the Municipal Equality Index because it sets a bar that most localities want to reach.
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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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