New report finds LGBT elected officials key to blocking anti-LGBT laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute (Victory) released a new research brief titled More Than Represent: LGBT Elected Officials Drive Equality in the States that shows the relationship between the number of openly LGBT public officials a state has and its level of LGBT equality. There is clear evidence…

Read More

Federal court decision upholds civil rights protections for transgender students

Today the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the U.S. Department of Education’s assertion that federal civil rights laws protect transgender students from discrimination. In a 2-1 decision, the court affirmed the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 as protecting transgender students from discrimination, including allowing them to use…

Read More

Additional companies call for repeal of HB 2, despite NC Gov. McCrory’s executive order

WASHINGTON – Today, the Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC announced that executives from the American Express Company, AXA Financial Inc., Bloomberg L.P. ,Capital One, Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, Campbell Soup Company, CohnReznick LLP, CrowdRise, eMaint Enterprises, LLC, Ernst & Young LLP, the Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., John Hancock Financial, Kohler Co., Logitech, Plum…

Read More

Mississippi: More than 60 major CEOs and business leaders demand repeal of H.B. 1523

WASHINGTON – Today, the Human Rights Campaign announced that more than 60 leading CEOS and business leaders, including executives from Bloomberg LP, CVS Health, Dropbox, Hilton Worldwide and Salesforce have signed onto an open letter calling on Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, and House Speaker Philip A. Gunn to repeal H.B. 1523. H.B. 1523, the so-called “Religious…

Read More

TurnOUT! North Carolina launches town hall series focused on repeal of anti-LGBT H.B. 2

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, TurnOUT! North Carolina announced a series of town hall meetings across the Tar Heel State, focused on engaging and mobilizing pro-equality North Carolinians against House Bill 2 (H.B. 2) in the upcoming legislative session. A joint effort of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Equality NC TurnOUT! NC has been working…

Read More

Robert De Niro to be honored at 27th annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York

NEW YORK, N.Y. – GLAAD announced today it will honor Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro at the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York at the Waldorf Astoria New York May 14. The 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Air Lines, Hilton, Ketel One Vodka, and Wells Fargo. The GLAAD…

Read More

North Carolina Gov. signs executive order modifying HB2

Following a huge backlash against the anti-LGBT House Bill 2 North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory today signed an executive order modifying the bill, albeit somewhat modestly. McCrory’s action affirms that private businesses, nonprofits, and local governments can establish their own employment nondiscrimination policies — for their own workers. And it expands the state’s employment nondiscrimination…

Read More

Pope Francis relaxes rules on divorce but will not support gay marriage

Pope Francis on Friday called for a Church that was less strict and more compassionate towards “imperfect” Catholics, such as those who divorced and remarried, saying “no one can be condemned forever”, reported Reuters. However the Pope also reaffirmed that the church would not support gay marriage. Francis said gays should be respected but firmly…

Read More