Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
In 1997, a few LGBTQ movement leaders, including our current executive director, Rebecca Isaacs, came together at the Highlander Center in Tennessee. Sitting in a circle of rocking chairs in the room where Rosa Parks was trained in civil disobedience, they envisioned coming together as a state-based movement to form the “Federation of Statewide LGBT Political Organizations.” From that loose network, an organization grew.
Equality Federation members scored key municipal policy wins this year. While we often focus on statewide wins, these city and county victories are critical components of the fight for equality in the communities we call home.
Equality Federation’s conferences, convenings, and trainings provide an extraordinary opportunity for member organizations to learn from and support each other.
Equality Federation congratulates Equality California as Governor Brown has signed seven of their sponsored bills that will ensure fairness and equality for LGBTQ Californians! The groundbreaking roster of legislation includes a bill that will allow for a nonbinary gender marker on state issued IDs, a bill of rights protecting LGBTQ seniors, and an update to the state’s HIV criminalization laws.
Our BIG LGBTQ MIXER event has become a San Francisco institution! Hundreds of locals, from tech gurus to artists, come out to have a good time for a good cause.
Just last week, former Georgia Republican Attorney General and prominent GOP leader Michael Bowers joined the fight over the proposed Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the Peach State, but not on the side you would expect.Bowers, who is well known for defending anti-gay sodomy laws in the Supreme Court’s 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick decision, is now standing on the right side of history and supporting those who believe in fairness for all.
A year and a half ago, I flew to Tulsa to work with The Equality Network. At that time, TEN was a small organization of committed volunteers. While they were doing remarkable work with few resources, they recognized it was time to grow so they could have an even bigger impact on their state.
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.
Last night, the Charlotte City Council rejected a proposed nondiscrimination ordinance supported by Equality Federation member Equality North Carolina and their coalition partners. The measures would have added sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics, to already protected classes in four city non-discrimination ordinances.
Swampscot, MA has joined the movement led by towns and cities across the country to protect people from discrimination based on gender identity. Carly Burton, interim co-executive director of Federation member MassEquality, released the following statement in response to the decision.
Twenty-three advocates championing nondiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people were arrested on March 2nd at the Idaho State Capitol. The demonstrators asked lawmakers to include protections for LGBT people in the Idaho Human Rights Act.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
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.
.png)
