Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
The balloons have deflated, the risers and sound systems from celebrations across the country have been taken down, but I hope you’re still feeling a little of the euphoria left over from the day that the U.S. Supreme Court announced its historic marriage ruling.
In the 90s I was the lead organizer in Lawrence, Massachusetts working to create the first LGBT Pride march. The effort was a huge undertaking fighting in the face of constant threats of violence.
Today HRC reported that five new major American companies announced their support for the Equality Act. Each of these new leading corporations – American Airlines, Facebook, General Mills, Google and Nike demonstrated their belief that all Americans, including LGBT people, should have the protections from discrimination. These companies join Apple, The Dow Chemical Company, and Levi Strauss, & Co. in supporting comprehensive federal LGBT non-discrimination legislation.
Charlotte, NC - Today the Equality Act was introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in the U.S. Senate and Representative Cicilline (D-RI) in the U.S. House of Representatives, including co-sponsors Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and John Lewis (D-GA).
Equality Federation hails the momentous decision by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that Title VII of the 1967 Civil Rights Act includes protection from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Previously, the EEOC found that gender identity-based discrimination against transgender Americans is also prohibited by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Equality Federation condemns new legislation introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), that would allow individuals and organizations to discriminate against millions of Americans—including LGBT people, single mothers, unmarried couples, same-sex couples and others—based on their marital status.
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’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.
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.”
As efforts to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination intensify, LGBT social justice organizations’ revenues experienced a decline in revenue for the first time since the Great Recession of 2007-2008. According to a new report (below) by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), despite the decrease in revenue, leading LGBT social justice organizations are projecting combined 2015 expense budgets totaling $189.6 million, a 12% increase from 2014 expenses.
Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance honoring the transgender people we’ve lost, often due to violence. This year, at least 23 transgender women were murdered in the United States and 81 worldwide.
In early November, over 30 leaders representing Equality Illinois, OutFront Minnesota, Equality New Mexico, Equality Ohio, PROMO (Missouri), Equality Pennsylvania, and Equality Utah gathered in Chicago for Equality Federation’s West by Midwest Leadership Summit.
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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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