News & Resources

Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.

The Latest

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Meet Our Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement

As Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, Vivian Topping works with state-based LGBTQ organizations to craft smart, effective legislative and electoral campaigns.

May 11, 2020
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Tell the FDA to lift the blood donation ban on gay and bisexual people

Earlier this month, the FDA decided to relax its rule of banning donations from gay men, bisexual men, and trans people from 12 months to 3 months. This is a good start but it's not a win. Any ban based solely on identity is wrong.

April 27, 2020
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LGBTQ People Must Condemn Violence Against Asian-Americans

Emmett Schelling, Executive Director of TENT: Being an immigrant born in South Korea always plays a factor in who I am and how I am treated in America. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the xenophobia that I am experiencing related to the pandemic is heartbreaking.

April 22, 2020
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Second Open Letter About COVID-19 and LGBTQ+ Communities

As we move further into population level interventions and continue to grapple with care shortages and economic harms as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the undersigned LGBTQ+ and allied organizations call upon public health authorities, health care institutions, government agencies and policymakers to address the following concerns.

April 21, 2020
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Historic Victory in Virginia!

We can officially celebrate! Governor Northam's signature made Virginia the first state in the South and 21st in the nation to ensure LGBTQ people are explicitly protected from discrimination.

April 13, 2020
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Resource Hub Launched to Support LGBTQ Community Through COVID-19 Pandemic

Equality Federation published an evolving list of resources for LGBTQ rights organizations and community members in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 31, 2020

Press Releases

VICTORY! Mass. House Passes Transgender Nondiscrimination Bill

Equality Federation congratulates Massachusetts on the passage of a proactive, transgender-specific public accommodations bill. This bill updates Massachusetts state law to ensure explicit protections for transgender people from discrimination in public places, including restaurants, hospitals, parks, and public restrooms. We celebrate this powerful victory, which comes after over a decade of public education and dialogue in the state.

June 1, 2016
The Summer of Action Kicks Off for LGBT Non-Discrimination Work in Atlanta

This week more than a dozen organizers working to secure non-discrimination protections for LGBT Americans nationwide came together in Atlanta, Georgia, launching a new project dedicated to developing conversations about the importance of comprehensive non-discrimination protections.

May 27, 2016
Eleven States Join Anti-Transgender Lawsuit Against Obama Admin

Officials in eleven states – Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin – have filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its directive to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.

May 25, 2016
Confirmed: LGBT People Protected from Discrimination in Health Insurance and Care

Equality Federation joined the chorus of LGBTQ advocates and health care professionals in praising the Obama Administration for finalizing a rule in the Affordable Care Act that bans discrimination in health insurance and health care.

May 13, 2016
Victory! Anti-LGBTQ Religious Exemption Law Fails in Missouri

Federation member PROMO Missouri is celebrating victory as anti-LGBTQ, religious exemption legislation, SJR 39, has failed to make it out of committee rendering it dead.

May 4, 2016
Victory! Anti-Transgender Bill Defeated in South Carolina

Equality Federation congratulates South Carolina Equality and all of the hardworking South Carolinians who helped ensure the defeat of S.1203, an anti-transgender bill that would have enshrined discrimination into state law by forcing transgender people to use the bathroom consistent with their biological sex, not their gender identity that they live every day, in all publicly-owned facilities including schools.

May 4, 2016
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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.