Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Fresh on the heels of new anti-LGBTQ smears by outside groups trying to mislead people about pending nondiscrimination legislation, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf has signed executive orders providing non-discrimination protections for members of the LGBT community employed by or contracting with the Commonwealth.
On March 23, the North Carolina General Assembly held a special session to rush through—in less than 12 hours—legislation attacking the LGBTQ community. House Bill 2 abolished all local nondiscrimination laws that go beyond state law, leaving LGBTQ people unprotected across the state, and would force transgender people to use bathrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificates in government facilities, putting them at risk of harassment and violence.
The cornerstone of our Southern Leaders program is our Southern Leadership Summit, an annual gathering that brings together advocates from the region for two days of intensive workshops and discussion. Challenging legislative sessions in all the Southern states gave us a lot to talk about, and leaders shared what they’d learned so far, with many fights still going on.
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has signed into law one of the most extreme, sweeping anti-LGBT bills in the country, HB 1523. The law allows discrimination by individuals, religiously-affiliated organizations (including hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and more), and businesses based on religious beliefs or moral convictions regarding marriage for same-sex couples; sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage; and transgender people.
On Friday, April 1st the Kentucky Senate unanimously approved a single marriage license form, a move in stark contrast to a divisive vote on the same issue several weeks ago. The Senate had previously approved Senate Bill 5, a measure introduced by Senator Stephen West (R-Paris) that would have created separate marriage license forms for gay and straight couples in Kentucky.
One of the most extreme, sweeping anti-LGBT bills in the country, HB 1523, is making its way through the Mississippi legislature and will reach Governor Phil Bryant’s desk within days. It would allow discrimination by individuals, religiously-affiliated organizations (including hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and more), and businesses based on religious beliefs or moral convictions regarding marriage for same-sex couples; sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage; and transgender people.
Trans people are the experts in their own lives and are not a monolith. We should listen to as many trans people as we are willing to share and trust that their lives will adequately supplement the data we have and are continuing to collect to create robust and effective policy.
December 14, 2022 - Yesterday, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, ensuring that the federal government respects and protects all marriages equally.
Today, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced that she has made a major gift to Equality Federation Institute as part of her pledge to give away a majority of her wealth through the Giving Pledge. Equality Federation received a $2 million gift to support the organization’s work as an advocacy accelerator for the state-based LGBTQ+ movement.
This year, in addition to our usual planning, coaching and other legislative support work, Equality Federation launched the Trans Defense Campaign to demonstrate the unified power of the state-based movement to defeat anti-transgender bills and win public support for transgender people.
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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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