Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
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.
Today Equality Federation lauded the reintroduction of the Equality Act by Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) in the House and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in the Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made passage a top priority for the new Congress.
Four anti-transgender bills were defeated in South Dakota’s legislature this month! HB1225 and SB 49 would have made it difficult for transgender youth to participate in school sports and programs; HB1108 would have banned discussion about gender identity and expression; and HB1205 would have allowed parents to deny healthcare for transgender children.
Recently, I got to spend the weekend at one of my favorite Equality Federation programs: our New Executive Director Boot Camp. Fran Hutchins, our deputy director, and Diana Gonzalez, our director of leadership programs, joined me for an intensive two days of training with three talented new state leaders: Jamie Foster of Equality Alabama, Kendra Johnson of Equality North Carolina, and Abbi Swatsworth of Out Nebraska.
Tina Kotek, a Representative from Oregon, became the nation’s first openly lesbian House Speaker when she was sworn into office in 2013. She’s a longtime advocate of LGBTQ equality but is also well-known for her advocacy efforts around housing, health care, and other important issues that most impact marginalized communities.
Summer of Action has kicked off in Phoenix, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Cleveland! Over the next three weeks we will have thousands of conversations about nondiscrimination with people on their front porches and on the phone!
Equality Federation is proud to partner in the launch of a groundbreaking ad depicting the challenges faced by transgender people in accessing public restrooms—and highlighting the lack of state and federal nondiscrimination protections for transgender people.
Today Equality Federation celebrates Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s signing of a historic bill that updates Massachusetts state law to ensure explicit protections for transgender people from discrimination in public places, including restaurants, hospitals, parks, and public restrooms.
The I-1515 campaign – an effort to repeal Washington State’s 10 year old non-discrimination law protecting our transgender friends, co-workers and family members – failed to turn in enough (246,372) signatures to qualify for this year’s fall election ballot. The WA Secretary of State’s office announced late this afternoon that the I-1515 campaign cancelled its appointment to turn in signatures.
Leaders of state-based equality organizations—from Equality California to Equality Florida—as well as several national partners, will convene at Equality Federation’s Leadership Conference in Portland, Oregon July 13-16th.
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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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