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:
A Kentucky bill that sought to bar transgender people from teaching has failed.
State Sen. Gex ("Jay") Williams (R-Verona) introduced SB 351 in early March to prevent transgender people from obtaining or keeping teaching certifications.
Under the bill, anyone reported to state education officials as potentially transgender would have been required to undergo medical exams and submit the results to obtain or renew a teaching license.
The bill also would have barred teaching certificates for anyone "who has been treated for or diagnosed with any disorder that is excluded from the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 by a licensed medical professional, as these disorders were defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders at the time."
Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little has signed a bill into law penalizing local governments, including the city of Boise, for flying Pride flags on government property.
House Bill 561, sponsored by State Rep. Ted Hill (R-Eagle), prohibits any "governmental entity" -- including counties, cities, and other political subdivisions -- from displaying non-approved flags on public property. The bill defines "government property" as "land owned and maintained by government entity, including buildings, adjoining land, parks, roads and boulevards."
Approved flags include the American flag, official city or county flags designated prior to 2023, military branch or unit flags, the prisoner of war-missing in action (POW/MIA) flag, Native American tribal flags, a single college or university flag, and flags that are "not political, religious, or ideological in nature."
"Growing up, my family was politically aware," says Democratic California State Sen. Scott Wiener. "I remember in 1980, when Reagan was elected, I was 10 years old. I remember our house was a house of mourning that election night, and there was a sense in my home of just trepidation of what was going to happen because even though Reagan seems somewhat more benign than Trump, it was a very right-wing takeover.
"My family was very aware and attuned to what was happening, and especially as Jews, you're always attuned to who's taking over the government and what they could do."
Growing up in Southern New Jersey, in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Wiener, the son of an optometrist, was raised in a conservative Jewish family, with ancestors who fled the pogroms of Russia and Eastern Europe in the early 20th century before immigrating to the United States. While his hometown ultimately transitioned from a farm town into a more developed suburb, there was no local synagogue until Wiener's parents formed one with a dozen other Jewish families from the surrounding area.
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