Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Please join us in extending a warm welcome to the newest members of our state partner network: BlaqOut and the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico!
Equality Federation Institute (EFI), empowered by ViiV Healthcare and our network of state-based LGBTQ+ advocacy partners, launched a bold pilot program this month: The Vanguard HIV Policy Change-Makers Fellowship!
In a new paper from A Better Balance, Local Solutions Support Center, and Equality Federation, we trace the local roots of LGBTQ+ equality in the United States and highlight the different types of abusive preemption that target local authority to protect LGBTQ+ individuals.
We are no longer the scrappy organization we once were. I am proud to say that Equality Federation is now an organization of 17, with the plan to have a staff of 20 by the end of the year.
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana the new Speaker of the House. Equality Federation, Forum for Equality, and Louisiana Trans Advocates — national and state organizations advocating for LGBTQ+ equality — join advocates across the country in condemning this selection, pointing out Johnson’s vehement anti-LGBTQ+ history as a lawmaker.
Today, Equality Federation responded to the Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, a case about whether a business that is open to the public can be granted an unprecedented free speech exemption from state nondiscrimination law in order to turn away customers they would rather not serve. In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled for 303 Creative in a highly fact-specific decision authorizing a narrow exception to state nondiscrimination laws for a website developer.
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.”
Equality Federation’s Legislative Action Center (LAC) is a proactive state legislative tracking and assistance program that will serve Federation partners, coalition members, and movement leadership and staff.
Equality Federation is proud to share Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ new report Out in the South: Opportunities for Funding LGBT Communities in the U.S. South.
Equality Federation recognizes Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) for their incredible accomplishments, including the passage of over 100 pieces of legislation that advanced LGBTQ equality. For 25 years the ESPA team was at the forefront of the movement, often achieving wins that paved the way for other states and inspiring the nation
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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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