Current Actions

Senator Schumer: You're the weakest link - goodbye!
In yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Senator Chuck Schumer and many other Democrats read nice speeches and issued nice platitudes about the LGBT community -- and subsequently killed a provision that would have provided relief to about 40,000 gay binational couples who are struggling to survive in a country that does not welcome them.

Let Senator Schumer know that we're no longer living in the Stone Ages, when political homophobia is acceptable. We are in a new day and age, and this type of caving to radical right-wing Republicans comes with a political price.
Senator Schumer: You're the weakest link - goodbye!
In yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Senator Chuck Schumer and many other Democrats read nice speeches and issued nice platitudes about the LGBT community -- and subsequently killed a provision that would have provided relief to about 40,000 gay binational couples who are struggling to survive in a country that does not welcome them.

Let Senator Schumer know that we're no longer living in the Stone Ages, when political homophobia is acceptable. We are in a new day and age, and this type of caving to radical right-wing Republicans comes with a political price.
Support the Equal Housing and Employment Act!

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Ohioans have struggled for decades without legal protections that ensure that they can get a fair shot at jobs and housing. Today, we have a chance to change that.

We're asking the Ohio legislature to pass the Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA) to ensure that all Ohioans have an equal opportunity to live the American (and the Ohioan) dream!
Support the Equal Housing and Employment Act!
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Ohioans have struggled for decades without legal protections that ensure that they can get a fair shot at jobs and housing. Today, we have a chance to change that.

We're asking the Ohio legislature to pass the Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA) to ensure that all Ohioans have an equal opportunity to live the American (and the Ohioan) dream!
Tell Sen. Schumer to Include Gay Binational Couples in Immigration Reform!
Senator Schumer, despite the vast numbers of same-sex binational couples in his state, continues to refuse to support the inclusion of *ALL* same-sex binational couples in an immigration reform bill. He recently told the press that the prospect of including key safety provisions in the immigration bill for these couples is causing him to "lose sleep" -- but still refuses to commit his support!

We need Senator Schumer's committee vote to get provisions protecting *ALL* same-sex binational couples into the immigration reform bill -- tell Senator Schumer that New York couples are counting on him!
Tell Sen. Rubio to Include Gay Binational Couples in Immigration Reform!
Senator Rubio, despite his clear interest in running for national office, continues to express the completely untrue sentiment that including same-sex binational couples in the immigration reform bill will cause the bill to fail. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth -- 64% of Latinos favor including same-sex binational couples in immigration reform!

Senator Rubio is taking on immigration reform as a way to advance his political career, while he's shifting the Republican Party in reverse. Tell Senator Rubio to tell the truth on inclusion of gay binational couples in reform, and to cut out his efforts to create division!
Tell Sen. Feinstein to Include Gay Binational Couples in Immigration Reform!
Senator Feinstein, despite the vast numbers of same-sex binational couples in her state, continues to refuse to support the inclusion of *ALL* same-sex binational couples in an immigration reform bill. She recently expressed hesitant support for a version that would only give provisions to those couples legally married in their home state -- which excludes the very couples she represents in California!

We need Senator Feinstein's committee vote to get provisions protecting *ALL* same-sex binational couples into the immigration reform bill -- tell Senator Feinstein that California couples are counting on her!
ENDA-ing Workplace Discrimination
Workplace discrimination is a real and serious problem in the United States. There is no federal law that prevents employers from discriminating against potential hires or current employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity -- and, as a result, employers refuse to hire, refuse to promote, harass, exploit, and fire LGBT Americans who have no recourse against these conditions.

Versions of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) have been languishing in Congress for 39 years. The bill has now been introduced in both the House and the Senate, and it's time to push like hell to get it passed! We're starting in the Senate, and we need your help to let your Senators know that you support ENDA!
Kill the Bill -- Not LGBT Ugandans!

Once again, the Ugandan Parliament is considering legislation known as the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" -- better known as the "Kill the Gays Bill." This time, Ugandan legislators are wanting to deliver this bill as a "Christmas gift" to the Ugandan people, attempting its passage by the end of the legislative session on December 15.

This legislation has been considered several times before, and has always been held off by brave Ugandan LGBT activists and others around the world working in solidarity with them -- including GetEQUAL. Now, though, Ugandan Members of Parliament are trudging the bill back up in an attempt to draw attention away from their own rampant corruption and a controversial oil bill -- using LGBT Ugandans as a political distraction from their own ethical shortcomings.

This bill is murderous in its nature and includes horrifying consequences for LGBT Ugandans and those who know/support LGBT Ugandans. The bill calls for execution of anyone engaging in same-sex behavior, imprisonment for anyone known to be helping LGBT Ugandans (including landlords renting out an apartment), and even possible jail time for those who fail to report someone else who has engaged in same-sex behavior -- including medical personnel, counselors, and family members.

American evangelical religious figures and American politicians have both actively and passively encouraged this bill to pass -- American religious figures like Scott Lively, Lou Engle, and Rick Warren have lent support through conferences and workshops in Uganda, while American politicians with ties to the secretive group known as "The Family" have lent support by holding off the possibility of crippling sanctions against the country.

So we're asking five prominent members of "The Family" -- Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) -- to publicly denounce this bill and to ask Ugandan Members of Parliament who are members of "The Family" to kill the bill.
Stand up for East Aurora students, faculty, and staff!

The school board in East Aurora, Illinois (district 131) recently adopted a policy that supports transgender and gender non-conforming staff, faculty, and students. The policy is based on the best knowledge of education and psychology experts, but is now coming under fire from a radical anti-LGBT hate group known as the Illinois Family Institute.

The school board is meeting Friday to reconsider this policy after IFI raised a stink about how referring to children by their chosen name and allowing children to use the restroom and locker room that corresponds to their gender is caving to their "disordered desires and the desires of gender/sexuality anarchists who exploit public education for their perverse ends."

We need pro-equality voices to add into the mix and to show the school board that they're doing exactly the right thing by protecting the children whose best interests they have been charged with overseeing. Sign this petition now and share it with your friends -- each signature will send an email of support to each of the school board members in East Aurora!

(After you enter your information below, please give the site a few seconds to send out the emails to school board members before you exit out of the page -- be patient!)
I Stand With Brad!

Earlier this week, Brad Pitt's mom penned a letter to the Springfield News-Leader in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri, opining that folks in her community should think twice before voting for President Obama this fall, given that his opponent -- Mitt Romney -- embraces such "Christian convictions" as opposition to abortion and homosexuality.

We all know that Brad Pitt has been a huge ally for LGBT equality for many years, and this dangerous rhetoric from his mother is horrifying. For LGBT youth in Springfield -- and places like Springfield all across this country -- hearing this kind of rhetoric is what leads to bullying, violence, and suicide.

We stand with Brad -- and not with his mother's hateful rhetoric. We're going to take out an ad in the very same paper in which her editorial appeared, in order to push back against this hateful language. Sign your name below to have your name included in that ad, and to stand on the right side of history for full LGBT equality!
President Obama: Sign the Executive Order Adding LGBT Workplace Protections to Millions of American Jobs

President Obama has an Executive Order on his desk, waiting for his signature, that would prohibit companies that do business with the government from discriminating against their employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

That would cover almost one quarter of the American workforce, but the President is dragging his heels. Each day that the President waits means that government agencies and federal contractors are free to fire or to not hire LGBT Americans simply because of who they are. And then-Senator Obama even promised to sign exactly such an Executive Order *in his first term* while campaigning in 2008!

With 73% support among the American public, we can't wait for the President to play politics with our equality. Join us in creating more momentum for an Executive Order by adding your name to this online petition to the President!
Veto the "Anti-Protester" Bill!
The U.S. House and Senate have both recently passed bills that place crushing new restrictions on the First Amendment rights of all Americans. This legislation puts new limitations in place that charge protesters with federal crimes if they protest on federal grounds, at any location in which someone protected by the Secret Service (the President, a former President, a Presidential candidate, or any number of domestic or international figures), or at any location sanctioned as being of "national significance" -- including the Democratic and Republican conventions and even Super Bowl XXXVI.

H.R. 347 and S.B. 1794 *severely* limit the ability of Americans to exercise their First Amendment rights to speech and assembly -- and destroy the long tradition of American protest. We are calling on President Obama to veto this legislation, and to stand up for those who wish to participate in the political process in deep and powerful ways.
Sign the Pledge, Mayor Rawlings!
Dallas’ Mike Rawlings won’t join more than 100 mayors from across the country who’ve signed a pledge in support of same-sex marriage during this week’s U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C.

“The mayor does not plan to publicly support any social issues but would rather focus on the policy issues that impact Dallas,” Rawlings’ chief of staff, Paula Blackmon, said in an email to Dallas Voice today. “Also know we have not signed onto other similar requests.”

Mayors who’ve signed the pledge sponsored by the group Freedom to Marry include Michael Bloomberg of New York, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Annise Parker of Houston, Jerry Sanders of San Diego, Thomas Menino of Boston and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.

During his campaign last year, Rawlings said he voted against Proposition 2, Texas’ 2005 constitutional amendment that banned both same-sex marriage and civil unions. When asked directly whether he supports marriage equality, Rawlings said: “I think it’s one of the most irrelevant issues for the world. I think we should get beyond it and let people do what they want to do. Some of my best friends have been married, and I’m pleased that they have been, and so I’m really happy for them. I’ve supported their marriage, but its’ not the mayor’s job to say, ‘We need to do this.’” (Source: DallasVoice.com)

Join us in sending a message to Mayor, Mike Rawlings that equality for all people is "a policy issue that affects Dallas"
Celebrate Same-Sex Engagement, Marriage, and Anniversary Announcements!
You might remember the Phillips family -- including Will Phillips, who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance until America offered "liberty and justice for all," including LGBT Americans. Will's parents, Jay and Laura, recently let us know about a friend of theirs in their home state of Arkansas, Cody Renegar, who survived a difficult childhood and the foster system to serve in the Army and to establish himself as a well-known and sought-after stylist, writer, and charitable worker. He's as good a man as he is a father and, in June, he is going to marry his dearest love, Thomas.

A short while ago, Cody asked to have his wedding announcement in the local paper -- Northwest Arkansas Times -- and was told that the policy of the paper is to only print wedding announcements for marriages legally recognized by the State of Arkansas. Since then, Laura and Jay have been working with Cody and many others to help change this discriminatory policy by the newspaper and its publisher, Rusty Turner.

Jay and Laura believe that Mr. Turner would like to see the policy changed, but needs the public support necessary to justify his paper's change of policy. Please help us to help Mr. Turner and his paper end a policy that, once upon a time, would have discriminated against interracial marriages, as well. By doing so, you’ll help the cause of equality and will ensure that Cody and Thomas get the wedding -- and the announcement -- they deserve.
Home for the Holidays
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered an incredibly powerful speech to the United Nations, urging the global community to recognize LGBT rights as human rights. However, the United States has fallen short in that charge. Binational couples like Jesse and Max (right) are living in exile, waiting for Jesse's home country -- the United States -- to welcome them back with open arms.

Secretary Clinton's speech was powerful -- and there is an immediate solution to the problem that thousands of binational LGBT couples are facing.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano could make Secretary Clinton's words a reality by issuing "humanitarian parole" to these couples -- bringing them out of exile and permitting them to live together freely in the United States. This isn't a long-term solution, and we'll continue calling for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- but in the meantime, we're fighting for couples like Jesse and Max to be able to rejoin their families in time for the holiday season.

Sign the petition below, urging Secretary Napolitano to bring these couples home for the holidays -- and to make the words of Secretary Clinton more than just a beautiful speech!

You can see the "Bring Them Home" video featuring Jesse, Max, and several other binational gay and lesbian couples here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9faaavqY0Vk.
Don't Erase David!
David Emerson graduated from Delaware Christian School in 2002, and has moved on to working as a successful radio DJ in the Columbus area.

Just a few months ago, David noticed that he had been deleted from the alumni page of his high school alma mater -- apparently at the direction of the principal, who had noticed on David's Facebook page that he identifies as gay.

While California is passing laws to require that textbooks include LGBT Americans, this school is hoping to erase us. David's a stand-up guy, making a living in radio at a time when that is increasingly difficult. He's a popular local personality and, until the principal stalked him via Facebook, he was featured as an alumnus of the school. Educators should be nurturing their students and their alumni, not harassing them online and removing them from the school's history!

When you add your name below, an email will go to the school's main inbox -- making clear how many people are standing up in support of David and all other LGBT alumni of DCS. Sign our petition demanding that David be added back into the school's history!
Come Out Against inSecure Communities!
The massive Deportation program, "Secure Communities" (S-Comm) makes us all, especially the LGBTQ community, less safe. LGBTQ immigrants--particularly LGBTQ youth of color, low-income LGBTQ people, and LGBTQ survivors of violence--are disproportionately impacted by S-Comm and all “ICE ACCESS” programs, a set of federal programs that tangle local law enforcement in complicated federal immigration laws.

Because of widespread police profiling, selective enforcement, and poverty, LGBTQ immigrants come into high rates of contact with law enforcement, leading to a greater risk for deportation, now made even greater by programs such as S-Comm.

As LGBTQ leaders, activists, and community members, we call on President Obama to take decisive action to eliminate these destructive programs that target and have severe consequences for LGBTQ people, low-income people, immigrants, people of color, survivors of violence, and young people.

Powerful community mobilization throughout the country over the past year have put major pressure on the administration to terminate the program. It's time for LGBTQ people to add our voice.

Join CUAV, Streetwise and Safe, GetEQUAL, and 60 other LGBTQ organizations by signing the letter below.
Say "I do," Mr. President!
Time after time, President Obama has been given the opportunity to play a historic role in ushering forth a new era in LGBT equality. And time after time, he's taken a pass.

As the President heads to Raleigh to seek our volunteer hours, our donations, and our votes we ask him to say "I do" to marriage equality and take a courageous stand for what he knows is right. The time has come, Mr. President. Check "yes."
The Gender Nondiscrimination Act Matters to Me!
Across the country, transgender Americans face enormous hurdles -- depending on state laws, those hurdles can be insurmountable. The California state legislature is leading the way on this front, and has just passed the Gender Nondiscrimination Act (AB 887), which will clarify the California law that makes discrimination against transgender people illegal.

The law is currently sitting on Governor Jerry Brown's desk, and needs his signature to take effect. Will you sign this joint petition from GetEQUAL and the Transgender Law Center, asking Governor Brown to sign this bill into law?

(Note that this petition is only open to California residents.)
Tell the President to protect LGBT workers!
On Thursday night, President Obama delivered a stirring speech before a joint session of Congress. In the speech, he articulated a clear vision for getting Americans back to work -- a vision that will depend on leadership from him and from the House and Senate in order to enact.

The plan that the President has listed on the White House website mentioned many groups that the President has committed to helping -- the long-term unemployed, youth, teachers and schools, and several others. Absent from that list was LGBT Americans -- who can still be fired in a majority of states simply for being who they are.

As the President moves the American Jobs Act through Congress, we call on him to add the content of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to the bill. According to a 2011 National Center for Transgender Equality survey, 90% of respondents experienced harrassment, mistreatment, or discrimination on the job or took actions like hiding who they are to avoid it. As we put Americans back to work, we must remember that many LGBT Americans are facing enormous hurdles simply to get in the door for an interview -- much less to hold on to jobs once they obtain them.

It is time that LGBT Americans no longer have to live in fear of being fired at any moment for their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is time that LGBT Americans no longer have to look over their shoulders, afraid of referencing their partner, or their kids, or their friends. It is time for our country to protect hard-working LGBT Americans from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identiy -- and we call on the President to make that happen now!
Take a stand for LGBT equality!
Sept. 20th marks the final repeal of "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell," but it basically just allows gay people who serve in the military to say that they are gay without having to be discharged. Allowing gay soldiers to openly discuss their loved ones, their families, and their personalities -- just as straight people do -- is an important step in the right direction, but only a very small one in light of the discrimination faced by LGBT soldiers and residents of Wyoming.

The fact that none of the delegation in the U.S. Congress from Wyoming voted to grant our LGBT soldiers this one basic human right indicates to us that our delegation needs to seriously rethink their attitudes about their LGBT constituents.
Strengthen Ohio Families By Repealing DOMA!
On July 12, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld lower-court rulings that a Cincinnati woman did not agree to shared legal custody of her daughter, now 5, despite planning the in-vitro pregnancy with her partner and naming her a "co-parent" in power-of-attorney documents.

While this might seem like a dispute between a former couple, it's actually much bigger than that -- it points to a fundamental lack of respect for and recognition of the patchwork legal relationships that LGBT Americans are forced to create while they lack a federal recognition of marriage equality.

It is not enough to hope for the good graces of the Ohio judicial system, while LGBT Ohioans (and Mississippians, and Californians, and many others) cobble together families that are constantly under attack. We must repeal the Defense of Marriage Act at the federal level, and we need our elected officials to stand with us in making that happen!

This petition is open to Ohio residents in the districts of Representatives who have not yet signed on as co-sponsors of the Respect for Marriage Act, including: Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-01), Rep. Jean Schmidt (OH-02), Rep. Michael Turner (OH-03), Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-04), Rep. Bob Latta (OH-05), Rep. Bill Johnson (OH-06), Rep. Steve Austria (OH-07), Rep. John Boehner (OH-08), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Rep. Pat Tiberi (OH-12), Rep. Steve LaTourette (OH-14), Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15), Rep. Jim Renacci (OH-16), Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH-18). The petition will not go to the Ohio champions of equality who have already signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, including: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10), Rep. Marcia Fudge (OH-11), Rep. Betty Sutton (OH-13), Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-17)
Demand that Mayor Reed right the wrongs of officers involved in Eagle raid!
Almost two years and two investigations after the raid of the Eagle Bar in Atlanta, action has still not been taken to right the wrongs of the police officers who discriminated against the Atlanta LGBT community and illegally raided the bar.

The Department of Justice is now pointing to this incident as an example of the discrimination that LGBT Americans face each day -- and Georgians deserve better than for the police department and the mayor to simply sweep this incident under the rug and pretend it never happened.

We're calling on Mayor Kasim Reed to make this right, and to take decisive action that will let the police department and all Georgians know that discrimination will not be tolerated in Atlanta.
Stop the deportations - save Doug & Alex!

On July 13th 2011 in San Francisco, Alex Benshimol and Doug Gentry, a married California couple, will face every same-sex binational couple’s worst nightmare: a deportation hearing. As anyone following this issue knows, for years there has been little hope for same-sex binational couples seeking to reside together in the US. Many are legally married like Alex and Doug, but are still treated as legal strangers in the eyes of our own government.

For many years, and certainly since DOMA became law, our families have been discriminated against. At best, our foreign partners and spouses have managed to stay in the US with temporary visas related to work or study, but are deprived of access to a “green card” on the basis of their relationship. These couples cannot build a future together and live with tremendous insecurity. Far more often we are forced to live apart in different countries; exiled to one of the more than 20 countries in the world that respect our families; or forced to live in the United States in the shadows with constant uncertainty; fear of deportation and ruin hanging over our heads. This destroys marriages, and tears apart our families. It is a humanitarian crisis that must come to an end.

Please join Out4Immigration, Stop the Deportations, GetEQUAL, Marriage Equality USA, and your fellow citizens in urging President Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano to take action to recognize Doug and Alex’s marriage and prevent another family from being torn apart!