Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
State-based organizations across the country are advancing major progress in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people with the protection, respect, and dignity they need and deserve, but far too often, these wins are unrecognized by the broader community.
2014 highlights.
One of the greatest challenges for the state-based LGBT movement is securing funding and resources to do the hard but necessary work on the ground in the communities we call home. For groups in the South, this continues to be a struggle. LGBT advocates in this region work to win equality for their communities with limited funding and capacity, all while facing often intense political and religious opposition.
Running an organization can be hard work. From supporting a board to interacting with donors to representing your brand -- being a successful leader takes commitment. One of the greatest responsibilities of an Executive Director is being a strong manager. And one way you can improve your management skills is through interactions with staff.
One in five Americans is financially “insecure,” meaning they recently experienced a significant loss in income without an adequate financial cushion. Because of outdated and discriminatory laws, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people face even greater economic insecurity than their non-LGBT counterparts simply because of who they are and whom they love.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Windsor v. United States last June, we have seen over 10 states win the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. We have witnessed 40 wins, and two losses, for the freedom to marry, and with 81 cases pending in 32 states, the time is right for the Supreme Court to consider one or more of the federal marriage equality cases.
The Department of Labor has issued some great news for LGBT couples and their families: married same-sex couples will soon be eligible for benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act even if they live in a state that doesn’t recognize their marriage. From a release on the Department’s website, workers in same-sex marriages will have the same rights as those in opposite-sex marriages to federal job-protected leave under the FMLA to care for a spouse with a serious health condition.
Dangerous forms of "therapy" are performed every day in the United States and throughout the world in an attempt to "convert" lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to conform to heterosexuality and traditional gender standards. Despite the progress we've made achieving the freedom to marry in many states and the increased cultural acceptance of LGBT people, this dangerous practice continues.
Nathan Schaefer is the Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda and the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation. In this capacity, he oversees the organization’s staff across the state and is responsible for advancing equality and justice for LGBT New Yorkers via the various facets of both organizations.
A Michigan pediatrician has refused to care for the baby of a lesbian couple, a sad illustration of why every state needs inclusive nondiscrimination laws that do not have loopholes that could put lives in danger. Currently, 206 million people live in a state that does not have nondiscrimination laws to fully protect gay and transgender people.
Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant have been together almost 31 years, and this morning they were married in Texas! A Travis County Judge ordered the clerk to issue the license, citing a serious health condition of one of the women.
Good news for Federation members from the Arcus Foundation! They have announced that applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Arcus Leadership Fellowship.
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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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