Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
In just a few days, more than 170 advocates from across the country will gather in Charlotte to connect and forge relationships, collaborate for future success, and build momentum toward even greater wins in the communities we call home.
Kellan Baker is a Senior Fellow with the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress (CAP), where he works on a range of LGBT health issues with the federal government and other national and state stakeholders.
New polling shows entrepreneurs strongly believe small business owners should not be able to refuse goods or services to LGBT individuals, or deny services related to same-sex weddings, based on owner’s religious beliefs.
Ronald Moore became the Vice President of Human Resources of Safe Horizon in August 2009. Ronald joined Safe Horizon after 26 years of employment in Human Resources at Hewlett Packard.
As leaders of state-based organizations, you probably have conducted, or will conduct, a ballot measure campaign. These campaigns can be the key to achieving policy wins in your state, so you want to make sure you're successful, right?
Recently, our board of directors voted on two new at-large members. In just a few short weeks, our members will have the chance to vote on our new slate of member representatives to the Equality Federation and Equality Federation Institute Board of Directors.
Equality Federation supports commuting Chelsea Manning’s court-martial sentence to time served and calls on President Obama to grant her clemency petition. Chelsea has served longer than anyone else with similar charges, and as a transgender woman, has been treated inhumanely and denied fair treatment.
Equality Federation and a coalition of 13 other LGBT, racial justice, and health equity organizations have filed an amicus brief in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down draconian restrictions on abortion providers enacted by the State of Texas in 2013 which, if upheld, would lead to the closing of most abortion clinics in the state. The brief urges the Court to carefully scrutinize the state’s asserted justification for the law, just as the Court has done with other laws that infringe upon fundamental freedoms.
Last year we reported that 17 anti-LGBTQ bills were defeated in Oklahoma thanks to the hard work of Freedom Oklahoma and the many advocates and allies on the ground working for equality. It was an incredible feat in a very challenging political environment; most of the legislators in Oklahoma lean conservative.
Equality Federation is disappointed to learn that six candidates for president signed a pledge supporting the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA). FADA is an unnecessary piece of legislation that would enshrine discrimination into law, prohibiting the federal government from stepping in when people or businesses discriminate because they believe “marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman” or that “sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.”
Equality Federation is proud to have partnered again with Human Rights Campaign to publish the Municipal Equality Index (MEI). This year’s MEI shows the growing support for LGBTQ people and our families while highlighting the work ahead to ensure full equality.
This week, we wrapped up the second convening of Fair Share for Equality, our annual forum of California state and local elected officials, LGBT and civil rights leaders and social service agencies, aimed at addressing the daunting disparities in health and wellbeing LGBT people still face compared to the general population. In her address to the audience, California Controller Betty Yee said that “the agenda for California and the rest of the country is quite vast.”
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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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