Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Watch GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump come out against North Carolina’s anti-LGBTQ law, HB2, at a recent town hall.
Equality Federation member Equality North Carolina has launched a groundbreaking commercial featuring a transgender North Carolinian and others speaking out against ant-LGBTQ law, HB 2, with support from our friends and partners at American Unity Fund, Freedom for All Americans.
On Thursday, April 28th, the House Armed Services Committee voted to pass a discriminatory amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act introduced by Representative Steve Russell (R-OK). The amendment applies the private employer religious exemptions of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to religious organizations receiving any federal contract or grant – which could include universities and hospitals employing thousands of people.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed discriminatory legislation that allows counselors and therapists to refuse treatment based on their religious objections or personal beliefs. The American Counseling Association has called the legislation an “unprecedented attack” on the counseling profession.
President Obama called for the repeal of Anti-LGBTQ bills in North Carolina and Mississippi at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister, David Cameron. The British Government recently issued a travel warning to LGBTQ tourists visiting those states.
In a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Virginia, a federal court of appeals ruled in favor of plaintiff Gavin Grimm, a transgender student at Gloucester High School who was not permitted to use the facilities and participate in the programs that match the gender he lives everyday. This is a historic victory for transgender students who, like all students, deserve a fair opportunity to fully participate and succeed in school as their authentic selves.
Equality Federation has been proud to partner with Lyft since last year, and a new announcement from the company reinforces why we value them as a business leader in inclusivity.
Equality Federation congratulates the hard work of Federation member Equality New Mexico, all of the national partner organizations, and the courageous advocates on the ground who shared their personal stories to achieve today’s victory: banning the dangerous and unscientific practice of sexual orientation and gender identity conversion efforts! New Mexico joins five states and the District of Columbia in banning the practice, and Equality Federation is currently supporting bills that would ban it in 19 more states.
Today the Senate confirmed Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States. He will be sworn into office on Monday. Equality Federation had previously expressed concern about Gorsuch’s record and personal philosophy, and those concerns were only amplified during the Judge’s confirmation hearings.
On Tuesday, April 6th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, issued a landmark ruling in a discrimination case brought by Lambda Legal. The court found in their 8-3 ruling on Hively v. Ivy Tech that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Equality Federation condemned North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper for signing HB 142, a law that legislators attempted to frame as a repeal of the famously discriminatory HB 2.
Twenty five years ago, I first started working in the LGBTQ movement. Back then I was hopeful for so many things that have since been realized, but one thing has yet to come true: an end to HIV.
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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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