Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
This statement can be attributed to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLAAD, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, United We Dream and Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, GetEQUAL, Lambda Legal, National Center for Transgender Equality, Equality Federation and National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.
In every state across the country, LGBT people are celebrating historic Supreme Court victories. And while our work continues, this Pride month has been one for the history books!
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its highly anticipated decisions in U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. In the case of U.S. v. Windsor, the Justices struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1993 policy that denies married same-sex couples equal protection under the law. In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court let stand the landmark Federal District Court ruling striking down Proposition 8.
Today, the Supreme Court struck down a central part of the Voting Rights Act, invalidating crucial protections passed by Congress in 1965 and renewed four times in the decades since. The sharply divided decision will significantly reduce the federal government’s role in overseeing voting laws in areas with a history of discrimination against African-Americans.
Good news for Federation members from the Arcus Foundation! They have announced the Arcus LGBT Leadership Initiative, an array of resources to support leaders of the LGBT movement in the United States. This initiative is a chance for movement leaders to enhance their skills and collaborate with one another, strengthening the movement!
Recently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a proposed rule regarding their use of nude body scanners in airports. The proposed rule is in response to a 2011 D.C. Circuit Court ruling that TSA violated the law by introducing the scanners in 2008 without rulemaking. The proposed rule consists of just two sentences, stating that TSA has authority to implement "screening technology used to detect concealed anomalies without requiring physical contact."
Every year, the Equality Federation Institute hosts its annual Summer Meeting, bringing together LGBT movement leaders from across the country to build skills and forge connections that strengthen the incredible work that’s happening in all the communities we call home.
Today the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging same-sex marriage bans in four states in the Sixth Circuit, and a ruling is expected in June.
Last year, Idaho and Montana became two of the 36 states (and D.C.) that now have the freedom to marry. This was a great advancement for LGBT people in these states, but it also brought about a new reality: it is now legal to marry a same-sex partner in the same state where protections against discrimination are limited.
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. We are only two weeks into 2015, and already another state has won the freedom to marry, and another could be on its way.
LGBT state organizations are led by some of the best leaders -- both new and long-serving executive directors who are working for change in their communities. To develop the skills of these amazing leaders and their organizations, our friends at the Victory Institute are offering a fellowship just for LGBT nonprofit executives.
For many of our movement’s state-based organizations, funding is often stretched too thin.Groups continue to make progress, but there is always more work to be done and more support than can be provided. Luckily, there is a new opportunity for some of our groups to receive this needed funding.
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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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