Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
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.
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.
BREAKING (STAY TUNED FOR MORE): Equality Federation extends our deepest thanks to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal for vetoing the discriminatory, anti-LGBT religious exemption bill (HB 757) that had passed through the legislature.
Equality Federation denounces North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory for signing into law the most extreme, anti-LGBTQ legislation in the country. House Bill 2 repeals Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance, prevents other towns from passing their own nondiscrimination ordinances, prevents transgender people from being able to use the restroom that matches the gender they live every day, and even prevents cities from adopting living wage ordinances.
BREAKING (Stay tuned for updates): Equality Federation calls upon North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory to veto the extreme, anti-LGBTQ legislation that was passed in the General Assembly on Wednesday. HB2 is one of the most discriminatory pieces of legislation to emerge in the country this year.
In state after state this year, opponents have used ever-evolving strategies to legislate anti-LGBTQ discrimination. The two most common strategies are religious exemption bills (so-called “religious freedom” bills) and bills focussed on restroom access.
March 10th came and went without much fanfare, yet it was a milestone day for Equality Federation member Freedom Oklahoma. When the Oklahoma Legislature gaveled into session earlier this year, Oklahoma’s LGBTQ community faced a daunting challenge to overcome 27 anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation — many carried over from the previous legislation.
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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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