Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
At our annual Summer Meeting, state and national movement leaders from across the country gather to celebrate recent victories, connect with colleagues and friends, old and new, and collaborate for future success.Each year, our host organization partners with us to ensure that the meeting is fun, informative, and unforgettable.
Troy Stevenson is the Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma, the statewide organization focused on public education and advocacy on behalf of Oklahoma's LGBT Community. Troy is a nationally recognized civil rights advocate and the former executive director of Garden State Equality, in New Jersey, and a veteran of 2 presidential campaigns.
The State Equality Index (SEI) is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that affect LGBT people and their families. The SEI rates all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. in six areas and assigns the states to one of four distinct categories.
Texas, Kentucky, and Florida have anti-transgender bills making their way through the legislative process. The bills could have very real, harmful consequences for transgender people and anyone else who may not fit in with the narrow assumptions some people have about how a man or woman is expected to appear.
On March 5th, more than 300 Republicans filed a friend of the court brief at the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage nationwide. Organized by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, the amicus brief was filed for the four same-sex marriage cases the Court will hear on April 28th that could legalize marriage nationwide.
SAN FRANCISCO - Today, Equality Federation hails the progress made by Federation member Equality Utah in bringing together faith and political leaders to draft nondiscrimination legislation, Senate Bill 296, to ensure no hardworking Utahn is unfairly fired from a job or denied a place to live.
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.
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.
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.
Update: Equality Federation extends our deepest gratitude to the eight courageous Senators in Missouri who filibustered for a historic 39 hours to prevent a discriminatory religious exemption bill from moving forward in the legislature. SJ39 is a dangerous bill that would ask the voters of Missouri to amend their constitution to allow religious organizations and individuals to use their faith to legally justify refusing services and benefits to LGBTQ people.
Now is the time for transgender equality, and more states are doing the right thing. They are no longer forcing transgender people to have surgery or obtain court orders in order to change the gender marker on their birth certificates.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that ensures the enforcement of federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate on specified grounds against a job applicant or an employee has announced two lawsuits alleging anti-gay discrimination.
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.