HRC in Midst of Largest Election Mobilization Effort in Organization’s History

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 29, 2012
Paul Guequierre

 

HRC in Midst of Largest Election Mobilization Effort in Organization’s History

Final stage underway in a years-long effort to make 2012 a milestone for equality

WASHINGTON – With a tight race to reelect the most pro-LGBT president in American history, the opportunity to elect the first openly LGBT member of the U.S. Senate, four marriage-related ballot measures, and numerous federal and state races with real and direct importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, the Human Rights Campaign has embarked on the largest voter mobilization effort in the organization’s history.  With 2012 the year of marriage, this year’s election is a tipping point in the movement for full equality under the law.

 “At no time in history has LGBT equality been more important in an election season,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Pro-equality candidates, including President Obama and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin are making history and we will put them over the top.  We’re doubling down our efforts in races at all levels across the country to make sure equality – and in particular marriage equality – wins at the ballot box.”


Key priorities:

·      Re-electing the most pro-LGBT President in American history, Barack Obama

·      Electing the first openly-LGBT member of the U.S. Senate, Tammy Baldwin (Wisc.)

·      Electing other fair-minded Senators including Shelley Berkley (Nev.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tim Kaine (Va.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.)

·      Electing more openly LGBT members of Congress

·      Electing fair-minded state legislators in places like Colorado, Delaware, Illinois and Minnesota, where pro-equality legislation could be voted on next year

·      Electing Maggie Hassan to the New Hampshire Governor’s office to beat back attempts to repeal marriage equality there

·      Winning marriage equality victories at the ballot box in Maryland, Maine, and Washington, and defeating a constitutional ban on marriage equality in Minnesota

 
HRC’s work and GOTV activities are detailed at the Election Center at www.hrc.org/election.  Activities include:


·      By Election Day, HRC will have invested $8 million in efforts to expand marriage equality over the past two years, including $5 million in the four ballot measure states

·      70 staff members on the ground assisting the ballot measure campaigns and many of their 233 HRC-endorsed candidates

·      PAC contributions of more than $1 million to endorsed candidates across the country

·      Members and supporters across the country volunteering directly on priority campaigns

·      HRC President Chad Griffin on a six-state Get Out the Vote tour to activate HRC’s more than one million members and supporters to vote and get their friends and family to vote

·      GOTV outreach to more than 75 college campuses across the country including literature, voter registration information, etc.

·      Social media outreach including partnership with Rock the Vote on Facebook voter registration and National Coming Out Day “Come Out and Vote” theme

·      Sending more than 15 million emails out to mobilize voters

·      GOTV phone calls to LGBT people and allies with targeted messages in races around the nation

·      Call4Equality, a tool that allows our members and supporters to directly call their Facebook friends in marriage ballot measure states and urge them to vote

·      Weekly phone banks at Washington headquarters for campaigns across the country

·      Telephone town hall the week before the election giving voters tools to get involved at this critical moment

·      Unmasking of the divisive strategies – and big coffers – of our opponents like the National Organization for Marriage

·      Providing extensive web resources on Mitt Romney’s real record on LGBT issues

“We’ve come too far to take steps back this year in the fight for equality,” added Griffin.  “Our opponents are back to their dirty tricks of lies and deception, so now it’s up to us – with truth and energy on our side – to leave no stone unturned in the most historic election ever for our community.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

 

# # #

HRC - Justices to decide whether to hear Prop 8, DOMA and AZ benefits cases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 29, 2012
Michael Cole-Schwartz

  

HRC Statement on Upcoming Supreme Court Conference

Justices to decide whether to hear Prop 8, DOMA and AZ benefits cases

 
WASHINGTON – Today the Supreme Court announced that at its conference on November 20, it will consider a number of LGBT rights cases including the Perry challenge to California’s Prop 8 banning marriage for gay and lesbian couples, a number of cases challenging the federal government’s ban on recognizing legally married gay couples known as the Defense of Marriage Act, and a challenge to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s decision to rescind domestic partner benefits to state workers.  The court is expected to announce its decisions on which cases it will hear on Monday, November 26.

HRC President Chad Griffin, who is also the co-founder of American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), which brought the Perry case challenging Prop 8, released the following statement:

 "For generations, Americans have looked to the Supreme Court to uphold the fundamental tenets of our constitution and on November 20th, the court will face those questions once again for the LGBT community.  Never before have the Justices confronted so many cases critical to the lives of LGBT people and our families.  With truth and justice on our side, I know that we will prevail in knocking down the dark walls of discrimination known as Prop 8 and DOMA."

 
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

 

# # #

HRC - Catholic Church and NOM Responsible for 60 Percent of All Anti-Equality Funding in Four Marriage Ballot States

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2012
Dan Rafter |

Catholic Church and NOM Responsible for 60 Percent of All Anti-Equality Funding in Four Marriage Ballot States

New HRC report finds money being siphoned from Dioceses around the country to fund political campaigns aimed at discrimination

Washington – The Catholic Church is funneling unprecedented dollar amounts into the four states where marriage equality is on the ballot this fall – Minnesota, Maryland, Maine and Washington – and in many cases, parishioners may not even be aware that their dollars are being used to fund discrimination. The new report from the Human Rights Campaign finds that the Church has spent at least $1.1 million as part of its broader effort to deny loving, committed couples the right to marry. In addition, a close ally of the Church and past co-conspirator, the National Organization for Marriage, has spent nearly $1.4 million on the four ballot measures. In the aggregate, the Church and NOM are the single largest funders of discrimination, responsible for funding nearly 60 percent of all anti-equality efforts in Minnesota, Maryland, Maine and Washington.

A significant portion of the Catholic-affiliated funding -more than $640,000 - comes from the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization within the Church. The Knights of Columbus have an established history of using their money to fight marriage equality dating back to 2005. Equally Blessed, a coalition of pro-LGBT Catholic groups, will be releasing an extensive report in partnership with HRC today detailing the Knights’ longstanding financial support for anti-equality measures.

In Minnesota alone, the opposition to marriage equality has received more than $180,000 from dioceses across the nation. Much of this funding likely came without the knowledge of parishioners; and as diocesan schools and important programs like soup kitchens struggle for resources, the Catholic Church has instead chosen to fund hateful, misleading political campaigns targeting loving, committed couples.

“The Catholic Church hierarchy has positioned itself as the leading religious organization funding discrimination against LGBT people,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Perhaps most disturbing is the number of local parishes redirecting the hard-earned dollars of its members in the name of discrimination. The majority of Catholics support equality for LGBT people – they want their dollars funding things like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and domestic violence programs; not discrimination against people several states away. The Church hierarchy owes the laity an explanation as to why they are spending this much money on discrimination, and at what cost to other crucial Church programs.”

The anti-LGBT activity of the hierarchy stands in direct opposition to the values of the majority of Catholics. A 2012 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that nearly 60 percent of Catholics support marriage equality. In fact, polling indicates marriage equality is one of the least important issues Catholics are currently concerned with. That same poll, from Belden Russonello, found that 83 percent of Catholics feel their bishops should not influence their vote.

“Our Catholic social teaching calls for us to work for a more loving, compassionate, and justice-oriented world for all. It does not call on us to discriminate against anyone,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, a Catholic leader with Equally Blessed and executive director of DignityUSA. “Unfortunately, the anti-LGBT activities of the Church hierarchy stand in direct opposition to the values of the majority of Catholics.”

The report, available at www.hrc.org/catholicreport, breaks down publicly reported in-kind and cash expenditures from the Church hierarchy and the Knights of Columbus to the four ballot states. In Minnesota, the Church has funded over 50 percent of the effort to write discrimination into the state constitution – spending over $608,000. That figure includes significant investments from the Knights of Columbus, as well as thousands of dollars from small parishes all across the country.

The Knights of Columbus also have made sizable contributions in Maryland and Washington State – dropping $250,000 in each state on efforts to prevent loving, committed same-sex couples from starting families.
The hefty financial investments from the Catholic Church come as bishops in some of the largest faith communities in the country speak out with increasing frequency against LGBT people. In San Francisco, the newly appointed Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was one of the chief architects of Proposition 8. Under his guidance, Catholic organizations in California led the charge in financing the Prop 8 campaign. In Newark, New Jersey, Archbishop John J. Myers has called on supporters of marriage equality to abstain from receiving Communion. And in Minneapolis-St. Paul, parishioners have walked out of services as pastors read letters against marriage equality from Archbishop John C. Nienstedt.

Learn more about the work of the Church hierarchy and its allies in fighting marriage equality this election cycle at www.hrc.org/catholicreport.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

###

HRC - The History of Coming Out

The History of Coming Out

In the Beginning, There Was a March

On Oct. 11, 1987, half a million people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It was the second such demonstration in our nation’s capital and resulted in the founding of a number of LGBT organizations, including the National Latino/a Gay & Lesbian Organization (LLEGÓ) and AT&T’s LGBT employee group, LEAGUE.  The momentum continued four months after this extraordinary march as more than 100 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists from around the country gathered in Manassas, Va., about 25 miles outside Washington, D.C. Recognizing that the LGBT community often reacted defensively to anti-gay actions, they came up with the idea of a national day to celebrate coming out and chose the anniversary of that second march on Washington to mark it. The originators of the idea were Rob Eichberg, a founder of the personal growth workshop, The Experience, and Jean O'Leary, then head of National Gay Rights Advocates. From this idea the National Coming Out Day was born.

To this day National Coming Out Day continues to promote a safe world for LGBT individuals to live truthfully and openly.

More here

New HRC Report on Experiences of LGBT Youth Links Being Out to Happiness, Other Positive Life Factors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 11, 2012
Paul Guequierre

New HRC Report on Experiences of LGBT Youth Links Being Out to Happiness, Other Positive Life Factors

 National Coming Out Day report finds openly LGBT youth happier, rely on peers for support yet serious obstacles remain to coming out

WASHINGTON – Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth who are out to their immediate family or at school report higher levels of happiness, optimism, acceptance and support, according to a new report on LGBT youth released today, National Coming Out Day (NCOD) by the Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization.  The report further analyzes the results of a groundbreaking survey of over 10,000 LGBT-identified young people, first released this summer in a report titled “Growing Up LGBT in America.”

The National Coming Out Day report shows that 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (91 percent) across this country are out to their close friends while youth are less likely to be out to immediate family (56 percent) and at school (61 percent).

“The good news is that unlike previous generations, many of today’s LGBT youth have someone in their life with whom they can be themselves,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.  “It is strikingly clear, however, that adults must do better in supporting LGBT youth who still fear family rejection, being judged and ostracized in school, rejected from their religious congregations and the broader community.”

The report also finds youth who are not out often face additional stressors and are more likely to be cut off from key forms of support including adults in their family or community to talk to and support organizations at school.  Half of LGBT youth, both out and not, participate in online communities that address LGBT youth issues.
 Among the report’s key findings:

• Among youth who are not out to their family, the most frequent obstacle they describe is that their family is not accepting or homo/bi/transphobic;
• Among youth who are not out at school, the most frequent obstacle they describe is that teachers or classmates will treat them differently or judge them;
• Nearly half (47 percent) of LGBT youth who are not out to their immediate family say they do not have an adult in their family they could talk to if they were sad, a quarter (25 percent) of youth who are out say the same;
• Among religious-identified LGBT youth who attend services regularly, only 19 percent are out within their congregation and a mere 11 percent are out to their clergy

“We know that LGBT youth who are out and accepted by even a handful of close friends or family are happier, and everyone has a role in creating an environment in which youth feel safe and comfortable being themselves,” said Ellen Kahn, director of the HRC Family Project and a professional social worker. “Today we should all consider what more we can be doing – from the conversations we have at the kitchen table or in the workplace, to comments made by national leaders in the media.”

This report, the second in a series of efforts to analyze the landscape for LGBT youth, includes a call to action for LGBT youth, their peers, parents, teachers, elected officials and religious leaders. 
 A full copy of the report is available at: www.hrc.org/youth.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

NCOD- Youth- Report

HRC and Rock the Vote Partner for National Coming Out Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 10, 2012
Paul Guequierre
 

Human Rights Campaign and Rock the Vote Partner for National Coming Out Day

2012 Coming Out Day theme is Come Out and Vote for Equality

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization and Rock the Vote have announced a new and exciting partnership for National Coming Out Day (NCOD) 2012.  NCOD – a globally celebrated event that encourages LGBT people and their supporters to be visible by living open and honest lives – is celebrated each October 11.  This year HRC and Rock the Vote are celebrating National Coming Out Day with the theme “Come Out and Vote for Equality.”  Rock the Vote's mission is to engage and build political power for young people in our country.

“With so much at stake this year, young voters will make the difference in key states with marriage equality ballot initiatives and in electing fair-minded candidates at all levels across the country,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.  “We are honored to partner with Rock the Vote in such an important election season.”

“Young voters in this country have an historic opportunity to make a difference in this year’s elections,” said Heather Smith, Executive Director of Rock the Vote.  “We are proud to partner with the Human Rights Campaign to mobilize voters across the country."

Polling shows that when people know an LGBT person personally, they are much more likely to support equality.  By coming out, LGBT people will encourage their friends, family, and coworkers to vote for fair-minded candidates.  HRC and Rock the Vote’s partnership will help spread the word about the importance of voting, particularly on college campuses.   

Founded twenty-one years ago at the intersection of popular culture and politics, Rock the Vote has registered more than five million young people to vote and has become a trusted source of information for young people about registering to vote and casting a ballot.  Rock the Vote uses music, popular culture, new technologies and grassroots organizing to motivate and mobilize young people in our country to participate in every election, with the goal of seizing the power of the youth vote to create political and social change.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

###

Videos from last night's HRC National Dinner in Washington DC

HRC: What to Watch for Tomorrow Night - Romney’s Reality Gap on LGBT Issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2012
Dan Rafter

What to Watch for Tomorrow Night: Romney’s Reality Gap on LGBT Issues

Romney lives in two different worlds on LGBT equality: what he tells people he believes, and what his actions really indicate

Washington – Mitt Romney may face questions regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality during tomorrow night’s presidential debate, and if his past remarks are an indicator, he is likely to mask his anti-LGBT policies with vague statements declaring that he stands against discrimination. However, Romney’s own words and actions paint a markedly different picture of a politician who is aligned closely with groups that seek to demonize LGBT people and their supporters.

The Human Rights Campaign has compiled an extensive report tracking Mitt Romney’s increasingly anti-LGBT animus. The Romney who famously declared in 1994 that he would be “better than Ted [Kennedy] for gay rights” has since devolved into an extension of the far-right who stands against everything from relationship recognition to workplace protections for LGBT people. HRC’s report can be accessed at www.hrc.org/romney.

“Mitt Romney likes to portray himself as a compassionate figure who would never want to discriminate against anyone, but his policies point to just the opposite,” said HRC Vice President of Communications Fred Sainz. “Mitt Romney advocates against issues that impact virtually every area of an LGBT person’s life – from their ability to marry the person they love and start a family, to ensuring they can’t be fired from their job simply because of who they are, even down to making it more difficult to address bullying in schools.”

Here are a few potential issues that may be covered in tomorrow night’s debate, and the facts on where Mitt Romney really stands on LGBT equality:

Marriage & Relationship Recognition

Mitt Romney says: “I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name. My view is [that] domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate, but that the others are not.”

The Facts: Romney tries to place himself somewhat closer to mainstream public opinion by implying that he supports some benefits for same-sex couples, but only can point to hospital visitation – which same-sex couples already enjoy because of President Obama. His statement is hollow and wholly without meaning – there remain hundreds of critical benefits and protections under state law, and over 1,100 more under federal law, tied to marriage that Romney refuses to acknowledge same-sex couples deserve. The one benefit he has gone on-record supporting – hospital visitation – is a right same-sex couples already enjoy.

Romney also supports the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and a federal marriage amendment (FMA). The FMA would not only ban same-sex couples from marriage, but it also essentially would divorce same-sex couples who are legally married – stripping them of rights and benefits they currently receive under the law.

LGBT Families

Mitt Romney says: Every child deserves one mother and one father.

The Facts: Romney’s refusal to acknowledge the dignity and respect LGBT families deserve is much more insidious than he lets on. At a campaign stop in South Carolina in the run-up to his first presidential bid, Romney bemoaned to a crowd that of the same-sex couples marrying in Massachusetts, “some are actually having children born to them.” In 2004, Romney told a resident who asked him what she should tell her daughter about why her moms couldn’t marry: “I don’t really care what you tell your adopted daughter. Why don’t you just tell her the same thing you’ve been telling her the last eight years.”

Romney also has demonstrated that he is blind to the obstacles same-sex couples face in starting families. In a May 2012 interview, Romney said “I think all states but one allow gay adoption – that’s a position that’s been decided by most of the state legislatures, so I simply acknowledge the fact that gay adoption is legal in all of the states but one.”

The truth is that in the vast majority of states, adoption by LGB individuals and families is unclear and left to the discretion of judges, state agencies, and adoption agencies that may discriminate.

Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Mitt Romney says: He opposes discrimination against anyone. During his tenures at Bain Capital and as governor of Massachusetts, he hired and appointed openly gay people.

The Facts: Romney’s vague opposition to discrimination is utterly false. In fact – despite once promising to support a federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Romney now claims that such legislation would place an “undue burden” on employers that would “open a litigation floodgate.”

LGBT Youth

Mitt Romney says: Every child deserves to feel safe and nurtured in school and in home.

The Facts: Romney has isolated and stigmatized LGBT youth at multiple points in his past. As a high school student, Romney led recurrent anti-gay bullying. According to a May 2012 Washington Post article, Romney relentlessly teased a classmate perceived to be gay, at one point yelling to the long-haired classmate, “He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!” Eventually the verbal harassment turned into physical violence, when Romney led a group of students who tackled him, pinned him to the ground, and cut his hair with a pair of scissors.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney blocked the publication of an anti-bullying guide simply because it included words like “bisexual” and “transgender.” He also abolished the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth – which was initially founded by a previous Republican governor - after the group lent its name to a flier for a local Pride parade. Previously, Romney had vetoed a funding increasing for the commission.

Romney’s track record is disturbingly indicative of a man who will say anything to get elected – regardless of his personal beliefs. He originally supported open service in the military, then opposed it, but now says he won’t reverse the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He originally supported ENDA, and now he opposes it. He has vowed to push for a federal marriage amendment, but also has acknowledged that he no longer believes it has the support necessary to pass. Learn more about Romney’s anti-LGBT policies and head-scratching inconsistencies at www.hrc.org/romney.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

###

Franklin County Democratic Party Sample Ballot

2012 FCDP Sample Ballot

October is LGBT History Month - See Today's Icon