Sally Field in HRC’s “Americans for the Equality Act” ad — Photo: Human Rights Campaign
On Monday, the Human Rights Campaign launched a public awareness and advertising campaign featuring a series of celebrities and other prominent figures who have voiced support for the Equality Act, a bill to expand LGBTQ rights.
The campaign, titled “Americans for the Equality Act,” has been filmed by award-winning directors Dustin Lance Black and Paris Barclay.
In the coming weeks, the campaign will roll out additional videos as part of the campaign, featuring spots from Black, Barclay and his husband, Adam Rippon, Blossom Brown, Charlie and Max Carver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Karamo Brown, Marcia Gay Harden, and Nyle DiMarco, as well as other actors, social media influencers, musicians, and professional athletes.
The kickoff video, featuring actress and LGBTQ advocate Sally Field and her gay son, Sam Greisman, is the first of many that will outline reasons for why it’s important for members of Congress to pass the landmark legislation.
The campaign will continue as the Equality Act moves through the regular committee process in Congress, in the hope that everyday Americans who follow these celebrities will take their own action by calling their members of Congress and expressing their support for the bill.
The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide protections for LGBTQ Americans in employment, housing, education, credit, public accommodations, and access to federal funds. Currently, an estimated 50% of LGBTQ Americans live in the 30 states without statewide LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections.
“This is an exceptionally important effort, and I’m so proud to have had the opportunity to both direct this series and participate with my family,” Barclay said in a statement. “So much of the progress of the LGBTQ movement has hinged on our ability to tell our stories and move people — and that’s the same spirit with which we’ve approached this compelling project.”
“Every American deserves a fair shot at a job to support themselves and their family, and the security of a roof over their head,” Black added in a statement. “These are key ingredients in what we’ve long cherished as our ‘American Dream.’ But until the Equality Act is signed into law, this dream may not be a reality for far too many Americans in many areas of our wild and wonderful country. I believe we must all share our personal stories and struggles with our fellow Americans in order to help this great dream become a reality for more of our loved ones, coworkers, and neighbors.”
Currently, recentpolling suggests that nearly 7 in 10 Americans theoretically support legislation that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people — including majorities of people in every single state and majorities of Republicans, independents, and Democrats.
“The advocates and artists featured in HRC’s ‘Americans for the Equality Act’ video series amplify the chorus of voices urging Congress to pass the Equality Act,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement. “The harsh reality is that LGBTQ Americans still face real and persistent discrimination in their everyday lives, and Congress must pass the Equality Act to protect them.
“We’re grateful for these incredible champions for using their voices and platforms to help ensure every person is treated equally under the law, no matter who they are or who they love.”
See the “Americans for the Equality Act” launch video below:
Kansas lawmakers have passed a sweeping anti-trans bill that restricts which public restrooms and locker rooms transgender people may use.
The bill requires driver’s licenses and birth certificates to reflect a person’s assigned sex at birth and defines “gender” under Kansas law as biological sex determined at birth, including chromosomes, hormones, gonads, and internal and external genitalia.
Under the bill, Kansans would be barred from amending the gender marker on their original birth certificate, and driver’s licenses could only display a gender marker that aligns with a person’s assigned sex at birth, reports Topeka-based CBS affiliate WIBW.
The U.S. Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group, blocking enforcement of a California law that prohibits teachers and school staff from outing transgender or gender-nonconforming students to their parents.
Under the state's anti-"forced outing" law, teachers are barred from notifying parents without a student's permission when that student asks to change their pronouns or gender expression at school.
The plaintiffs include religious parents and educators, among them two sets of Catholic parents represented by the Thomas More Society, who claim the prohibition on parental notification misled parents and helped facilitate their children's social transition in defiance of their religious beliefs.
A Ugandan court has dropped a case against the first man in the country to be prosecuted for "aggravated homosexuality," a charge that carries the death penalty under Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.
The defendant, who was 20 years old at the time of his arrest on August 15, 2023, was allegedly discovered by police around midnight with a 41-year-old man at Soroti Sports Ground in eastern Uganda. Both men were arrested, taken to Soroti Central Police Station, and accused of engaging in "unlawful sexual intercourse," an allegation the 20-year-old denied. Police claimed they caught the two men half-naked.
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