Repeal of DADT is Moving: Send This Action Today!

This week, game-changing votes in the U.S. House and Senate could make or break the fate of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal efforts in 2010. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) is expected to offer an amendment to the House version of the Defense Authorization bill that would overturn DADT. Similar action is also expected in the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, May 26.

AND THIS BREAKING NEWS JUST CAME IN:
On Thursday (05/27), the Senate Armed Services Committee will vote on an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, sponsored by Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and supported by Levin to repeal DADT.

The fight for repeal in 2010 hangs in the balance. A few votes could make the difference between victory and defeat. Each representative's vote will count.

And that's why we need your help right now.

Click here to find your Representative. Call today to tell him/her that waiting another year for repeal is not an option.

Ask your Member of Congress for the repeal vote on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'.

Call the Switchboard at: (202) 225-3121

We are on the brink of victory, but we aren't there yet.

We can make this week’s House vote a historic win if we pull out all the stops and push even harder now. We are closer to achieving repeal than ever before.

Help us get to the finish line.

Thank you.
Visit the Servicememebers Legal Defense Network

Please spread the word – San Francisco ENDA ACTION ON TUESDAY!

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act will ban employment discrimination against LGBT people across the United States – BUT ONLY IF IT PASSES CONGRESS!

Why won’t Congress vote on this fundamental civil rights bill for LGBT people? 

ENDA is stuck – and ONLY YOU can help get it moving again. We need as many people as possible to show up in front of Speaker Pelosi’s office – will you come?  Will you bring friends?

Tuesday, May 18
4:30 – 6:30 pm
7th & Mission Streets
San Francisco, CA

We need to send a LOUD MESSAGE to Congress:  PASS ENDA NOW!

We have been waiting for decades to pass a simple law that would ban discrimination against LGBT people at work. We were asked to be patient for more than a year while Congress focused on the financial crisis and health care. We were patient. We were told to lobby our representatives in Congress to get the votes necessary to pass the bill. We did the work.  

Now we need to tell Congress: STOP STALLING!

We are ready. We have the support. We want a vote on ENDA now.

If we don’t get a vote in the House very soon, we will not have time to get ENDA passed in the Senate. The President will sign ENDA into law – but only if it passes Congress. It could be years before we have another chance to enact this most basic civil rights law.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION!  JOIN US ON TUESDAY!

Equality California
Transgender Law Center
San Francisco LGBT Community Center
San Francisco Pride at Work
Equality Federation
Get Equal
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Out & Equal

P.S.  Actions are being planned around the country for a National ENDA week – to find out about ENDA events in other cities, please visit www.endanow.org.


Follow @endaNOW on Twitter for more information about action alerts near you.

March for Peace and Non-Violence - Hosted by Marin Academy High School

March for Peace and Non- Violence

You Are Invited!
December 2, 2009

Where: We will start on the lawn in front of the San Rafael Library (5th and E St.), march through downtown San Rafael, then gather at the Cold Stone Plaza.

When: 12:15pm (Meet at 5th and E St., San Rafael)
12:30pm (Gather at Cold Stone Plaza)
12:45pm (Send the Marchers to San Francisco)

On October 2, 2009, the World's first International March for Peace and Non-Violence began. Currently 25 marchers are traveling across six contents asking for the elimination of nuclear weapons and an end to war. As the march makes its way across the world many honorary marches are taking place.

On Wednesday, December 2, the World March for Peace and Non-Violence will be coming through the Bay Area. Marin Academy will have the honor of hosting three of the marchers, and in conjunction with their efforts, the Marin Academy Peace and Justice Coalition will be sponsoring its own march in support of Peace and Non-Violence. Our march will be led by the International Marchers and our honored special guest, Takashi Tanemori, a survivor of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb. From the San Rafael Library, we will march through downtown San Rafael to the Cold Stone Plaza for a culminating event, sending the World Marchers off on their continued journey. For more information on the March, go to www.worldmarchusa.net.

We encourage you to join us and we will be honored if you can participate. The more voices for peace and non-violence in any form, the bigger the impact we will have.

Thank You So Much!
Marin Academy Peace and Justice Coalition
For more information contact Mark at mstefanski@ma.org.

Equality California Calls for Strengthening Ongoing Boycott against Anti-Gay Reggae Singer Buju Banton

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2009

Equality California Calls for Strengthening Ongoing Boycott against Anti-Gay Reggae Singer Buju Banton

San Francisco – Equality California is calling for strengthening the ongoing boycott against Buju Banton, a reggae artist whose music promotes the violent murder of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. At least 16 concerts in Banton’s U.S. tour have already been cancelled, and despite a recent meeting with LGBT community advocates in San Francisco—who called on Banton to take meaningful steps to build bridges with LGBT community members—he refused and has fired off a new round of attacks.

In response, EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors issued the following statement:

“Because Buju Banton remains unrepentant and unapologetic for glorifying the murder of LGBT people through his music, we must redouble our efforts and strengthen our boycott against him. His most notorious song, ‘Boom, Bye Bye,’ promotes hatred against LGBT people and a toxic environment that encourages violence. Equality California urges its coalition partners and those who stand for equality to join the boycott against Banton, just as we call on those clubs who have booked him to cancel their concerts.”

For more information on the boycott, visit http://cancelbujubanton.wetpaint.com/. To get the facts about Banton’s anti-gay record, visit: http://www.petertatchell.net/popmusic/buju-bantons-violations-of-the-reggae-compassionate-act.html

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 60 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org

It’s Time to Speak Out About Health Care

From Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

The president made it clear and we agree: The inaction in Congress concerning health care must end.

The misinformation from the right and the foot-dragging of those we elected to represent us have wasted too much time. It’s past time to address the health concerns that affect everyone in our country.

Everyone, right or left, agrees that no one in this country should go without health care coverage, and LGBT people — like many other communities — are disproportionately impacted by the hardship caused by the lack of access to medical care and coverage. Affordable and accessible health care is not just imperative to our well-being as individuals, it is crucial to the health of our country.

Please contact your member of Congress right now and demand comprehensive health care reform that includes a public option now.

Last night, President Obama cited stories he’s heard from people denied adequate coverage when they needed it most. There are stories like this everywhere, in every community. I’ve heard stories from you just like these. And the fact remains that LGBT people are particularly vulnerable — often underemployed or simply treated badly by the medical establishment just because of who we are.

If the LGBT community and our supporters don’t demand a solution that addresses the health care needs of all of us we just might end up with a solution that doesn’t work for any of us. We can’t let that happen.

Take action and contact Congress today for real health care reform.

The Task Force has been fighting for years on Capitol Hill to advocate for better policies and to secure funds to support the unique health needs of LGBT people.

We’re making progress, but now is the moment when we must all come together and insist that action be taken. Comprehensive health care reform is an important step in addressing the health challenges faced by so many. It will help us address the care and coverage issues that can have such a devastating impact on all of our lives. All of us deserve the stability and security of knowing that our families will have access to medical care and will not go bankrupt getting the care they need. And guess who can help ensure that, when health care reform is finally passed, it meets the needs of everyone? You.

Now is the time to ensure security and stability for everyone. Contact your member of Congress now and demand comprehensive health care reform today. Our very lives depend it.

Thank you for taking action on health care. Our elected officials need to hear from the LGBT community and our supporters.


Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Hate Crimes Update: Thank Your Senators and Representatives

HATE CRIMES UPDATE: THANK YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES BUT CONTINUE TO EDUCATE THEM

As you know, last week the Senate debated the Matthew Shepard Act, a bill that will expand hate crimes legislation to include violent crimes inspired by the victim’s (perceived) sexual orientation and gender identity. On Thursday, July 16, the Senate voted 63-28 in favor to include the Matthew Shepard Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Act (DoD), with all Democrats (excluding Senators Byrd and Kennedy who are absent) and five Republicans voting in favor.

This is a major development in the fight for LGBT rights and protections and if your senators voted in favor of the Matthew Shepard Act please take a moment to call them at the Senate switchboard at 202 224 3121 and thank them for their support. These calls are as important as the calls we asked you to make earlier, because it shows that you are paying attention to what is going on in Washington concerning LGBT issues. Please make these calls today.

But despite this success, we are not there yet!

Yesterday, the Senate voted in favor of including additional amendments introduced by Senator Sessions (R - Alabama). These amendments, one requiring the Attorney General to establish criteria for determining whether a crime was motivated by the status of the victim and one making the death penalty a requirement for certain hate crimes, are unnecessary, weaken the effectiveness of the hate crimes bill, and potentially could make the bill such a hot topic issue that it runs the risk of being dropped during the upcoming session of the House-Senate conference committee that will combine the House and Senate bills into one bill.

The Matthew Shepard Act will not be law until the DoD bill has been approved by the Senate, the House-Senate conference committee does not alter the bill, the updated version of the DoD is passed by both the House and the Senate, and, finally, President Obama signs it into law. This means that we will have to continue pressuring Congress on this issue until all stages are successfully completed. If at any point in time the Matthew Shepard Act is challenged it is unlikely there will be a hate crimes expansion this year.

Do not allow anyone to derail this vital hate crimes legislation, and do not allow those who support the Matthew Shepard Act in the House and Senate to weaken their resolve on this issue.

We need to act! Therefore, in the coming weeks call, write or e-mail your members of Congress (Click here for a list of contact information for senators and here for representatives). If they supported the Matthew Shepard Act, thank them for doing so. But also urge them to make sure the bill will make it to President Obama’s desk in its original form. Please ask your constituents to do the same. None of this takes more than a few minutes, but it can be exceptionally important in making sure that Congress does the right thing, and passes the Matthew Shepard Act.


More information about the Matthew Shepard Act

Learn more about the act by downloading CenterLink Hate Crimes Factsheet - Senate 2009-07.

What is the Matthew Shepard Act?

The Matthew Shepard Act (officially the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act or LLEHCPA) is a bill that, if passed, would expand the 1969 and 1994 federal hate-crime laws to include crimes motivated by the victim’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. The act is named for Matthew Shepard, the 21 year old college student who was tortured and murdered in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 because of his homosexuality, one of the many victims of crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the United States each year.

If passed, what would the Matthew Shepard Act actually do?

On the most basic level, it would allow the federal government to prosecute those who commit hate crimes, and would increase the penalties received by the culprits. It will also lift the prerequisite that the federal government cannot intervene unless the victim had been involved in a federally protected activity (such as voting) when the crime occurred. If passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will also allocate more funds to investigate hate crimes, and require the FBI to track statistics on hate crimes committed against transgender people (hate crimes based on sexual orientation are already being tracked).

Is the Matthew Shepard Act really necessary?

Yes. Hate crimes differ from ‘normal’ crimes in that they do not just cause harm to an individual and his or her circle of family and friends, but also to an entire community. When passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will lead to harsher punishment to those who commit hate crimes against members (or perceived members) of the LGBT community and in doing so will send the message that any form of violence committed against an individual because of that person’s (perceived) sexual orientation or gender identity is an attack on the LGBT community as a whole, and unacceptable to society. This is major progress in the fight against gay bashing, as well as the fight for gay rights in general: the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act sends a clear message that Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, do not hate to live in fear.

Will the Matthew Shepard Act restrict freedom of speech?

This argument is widely made against the act by Republicans in Congress. While violence in any shape or form, physical or emotional, is despicable and unacceptable, the Matthew Shepard Act is only concerned with physical violence. When passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will not lead to the prosecution of those who make violent statements (outrageous and wrong as they may be) against the LGBT community. Any statements being made that suggest that the Matthew Shepard Act would create a thought police, or would limit the freedom of speech or religion, are either misguided or intentionally false.

What can you do to help pass the Matthew Shepard Act?

Call, write, or e-mail your senators and representatives. If they supported the Matthew Shepard Act, thank them for doing so. But also urge them to make sure the bill will make it to President Obama’s desk in its original form. Please ask your constituents to do the same.

Visit CenterLink for more information.

Action Alert: Keep Calling Your Senators

Since yesterday morning's action alert on the Matt Shepard Hate Crimes Act, the wheels have been turning in the Senate. The bill has now been added by Senator Patrick Leahy (D Vermont) as the Leahy/Collins/Kennedy/Snowe amendment to the FY 2010 Department of Defense Authorization bill. It is important to note that the wording of this amendment is exactly the same as the original bill. It now looks as though a vote will be taken either tomorrow, Thursday July 16, or on Monday, July 20.

Because of that, it is important that we keep the pressure up. Please call your senators and urge them to support the Leahy/Collins/Kennedy/Snowe hate crimes amendment, and ask your constituents, friends, family and colleagues to do the same. The toll free number you can use to call your senators (866-659-9641) will remain open tomorrow.

Learn more about the act by downloading CenterLink Hate Crimes Factsheet - Senate 2009-07.

What is the Matthew Shepard Act?

The Matthew Shepard Act (officially the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act or LLEHCPA) is a bill that, if passed, would expand the 1969 and 1994 federal hate-crime laws to include crimes motivated by the victim's perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. The act is named for Matthew Shepard, the 21 year old college student who was tortured and murdered in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 because of his homosexuality, one of the many victims of crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the United States each year.

If passed, what would the Matthew Shepard Act actually do?

On the most basic level, it would allow the federal government to prosecute those who commit hate crimes, and would increase the penalties received by the culprits. It will also lift the prerequisite that the federal government cannot intervene unless the victim had been involved in a federally protected activity (such as voting) when the crime occurred. If passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will also allocate more funds to investigate hate crimes, and require the FBI to track statistics on hate crimes committed against transgender people (hate crimes based on sexual orientation are already being tracked).

Is the Matthew Shepard Act really necessary?

Yes. Hate crimes differ from "normal" crimes in that they do not just cause harm to an individual and his or her circle of family and friends, but also to an entire community. When passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will lead to harsher punishment to those who commit hate crimes against members (or perceived members) of the LGBT community and in doing so will send the message that any form of violence committed against an individual because of that person's (perceived) sexual orientation or gender identity is an attack on the LGBT community as a whole, and unacceptable to society. This is major progress in the fight against gay bashing, as well as the fight for gay rights in general: the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act sends a clear message that Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, do not hate to live in fear.

Will the Matthew Shepard Act restrict freedom of speech?

This argument is widely made against the act by Republicans in Congress. While violence in any shape or form, physical or emotional, is despicable and unacceptable, the Matthew Shepard Act is only concerned with physical violence. When passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will not lead to the prosecution of those who make violent statements (outrageous and wrong as they may be) against the LGBT community. Any statements being made that suggest that the Matthew Shepard Act would create a thought police, or would limit the freedom of speech or religion, are either misguided or intentionally false.

What can you do to help pass the Matthew Shepard Act?

On Wednesday, July 15, and Thursday, July 16, call your senators between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, through the toll free number 866-659-9641 and strongly urge them to support the Matthew Shepard Act. Please also forward this message to your constituents, friends, and family, and ask them to do the same.

http://center.convio.net

Action Alert: Call Your Senators Today and Help Push The Hate Crimes Bill into Becoming Law

As early as today, Wednesday July 15, the Senate will vote on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. With the House having already passed the bill in April, the Senate is the last major hurdle before the bill will become law. You can help make sure that we are able to take this last hurdle successfully. Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, a toll free number (866-659-9641) will be open for you and your constituents, friends, family members and collegues to call your senators and urge them to support the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Learn more about the act by downloading CenterLink Hate Crimes Factsheet - Senate 2009-07.

What is the Matthew Shepard Act?

The Matthew Shepard Act (officially the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act or LLEHCPA) is a bill that, if passed, would expand the 1969 and 1994 federal hate-crime laws to include crimes motivated by the victim’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. The act is named for Matthew Shepard, the 21 year old college student who was tortured and murdered in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 because of his homosexuality, one of the many victims of crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the United States each year.

If passed, what would the Matthew Shepard Act actually do?

On the most basic level, it would allow the federal government to prosecute those who commit hate crimes, and would increase the penalties received by the culprits. It will also lift the prerequisite that the federal government cannot intervene unless the victim had been involved in a federally protected activity (such as voting) when the crime occurred. If passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will also allocate more funds to investigate hate crimes, and require the FBI to track statistics on hate crimes committed against transgender people (hate crimes based on sexual orientation are already being tracked).

Is the Matthew Shepard Act really necessary?

Yes. Hate crimes differ from ‘normal’ crimes in that they do not just cause harm to an individual and his or her circle of family and friends, but also to an entire community. When passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will lead to harsher punishment to those who commit hate crimes against members (or perceived members) of the LGBT community and in doing so will send the message that any form of violence committed against an individual because of that person’s (perceived) sexual orientation or gender identity is an attack on the LGBT community as a whole, and unacceptable to society. This is major progress in the fight against gay bashing, as well as the fight for gay rights in general: the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act sends a clear message that Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, do not hate to live in fear.

Will the Matthew Shepard Act restrict freedom of speech?

This argument is widely made against the act by Republicans in Congress. While violence in any shape or form, physical or emotional, is despicable and unacceptable, the Matthew Shepard Act is only concerned with physical violence. When passed, the Matthew Shepard Act will not lead to the prosecution of those who make violent statements (outrageous and wrong as they may be) against the LGBT community. Any statements being made that suggest that the Matthew Shepard Act would create a thought police, or would limit the freedom of speech or religion, are either misguided or intentionally false.

What can you do to help pass the Matthew Shepard Act?

On Wednesday, July 15, call your senators between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, through the toll free number 866-659-9641 and strongly urge them to support the Matthew Shepard Act. Please also forward this message to your constituents, friends, and family, and ask them to do the same.

For more information visit CenterLink.

Please Take Action and Demand KRXQ Radio Hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States Apologize for Encouraging Violence Against Transgender Children

Please Take Action and Demand KRXQ Radio Hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States Apologize for Encouraging Violence Against Transgender Children

June 2, 2009— In a lengthy May 28 tirade on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5 FM and Reno, Nevada on KDOT 104.5 FM, hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States verbally attacked transgender children. While discussing a recent story about a transgender child in Omaha, Nebraska and her parents’ decision to support her transition, the two hosts spent more than 30 minutes explicitly promoting child abuse of and making cruel, dehumanizing and defamatory comments toward transgender children.

You can listen to the entire segment beginning at 4:48 by clicking this link:
http://robarnieanddawn.com/

Among the comments made by the hosts:
ROB WILLIAMS [11:12]: This is a weird person who is demanding attention. And when it’s a child, all it takes is a hug, maybe some tough love or anything in between. When your little boy said, ‘Mommy, I want to walk around in a dress.’ You tell them no cause that’s not what boys do. But that’s not what we’re doing in this culture.

ARNIE STATES [13:27]: If my son, God forbid, if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes. I would throw a shoe at him. Because you know what? Boys don’t wear high heels. And in my house, they definitely don’t wear high heels.

ROB WILLIAMS [17:45]: Dawn, they are freaks. They are abnormal. Not because they’re girls trapped in boys bodies but because they have a mental disorder that needs to be somehow gotten out of them. That’s where therapy could help them.

ROB WILLIAMS [18:15]: Or because they were molested. You know a lot of times these transgenders were molested. And you need to work with them on that. The point is you don’t allow the behavior. You cure the cause!

ARNIE STATES [21:30]: You got a boy saying, ‘I wanna wear dresses.’ I’m going to look at him and go, ‘You know what? You’re a little idiot! You little dumbass! Look, you are a boy! Boys don’t wear dresses.’

ARNIE STATES [29:22]: You know, my favorite part about hearing these stories about the kids in high school, who the entire high school caters around, lets the boy wear the dress. I look forward to when they go out into society and society beats them down. And they end up in therapy.

To her credit, co-host Dawn Rossi stood up to Williams and States during the segment.

Despite her apparent lack of familiarity with transgender issues, Rossi repeatedly defended transgender people and made an on-air apology for her colleagues’ defamatory remarks.

TAKE ACTION NOW!
Please contact KRXQ management in Sacramento, California, where the show is produced and demand that radio show hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States publicly apologize. Call on KRXQ to hold Williams and States accountable for their remarks and establish clear standards to ensure their media platform will not be used to condone or promote violence against any parts of the communities they serve.

Contact:
John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com

Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com

Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com

Please forward this info to any of your friends and others who may also wish to take action. When contacting KRXQ, please ensure that your emails and phone calls are civil and respectful and do not engage in the kind of name-calling or abusive behavior.

Read the latest updates on this Call to Action at GLAAD.

Eve of Justice - Marin County Carpool - Join Us!

Join us in the Eve of Justice Marin County Carpool to San Francisco. We will leave by 4 to get there and park for the 5:00 rally. A meeting location will be chosen when we know the most convenient place for participants. If you are interested call;

Dolores Caruthers - 415-497-6469
or Karen Smith - 415-847-2098

For more information about the Rally and March go to:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=129673880452

If you are getting there on your own look for the Marin County folks. We will have a sign.

4th Annual Queer People of Color Conference

Date: April 3rd and 4th 2009

Location: UC Davis

Theme: "Building Communities through Art, Action, and Resistance."

All are welcome.

"This conference will allow individuals to come together & express a new sense of community. We'll redefine & introduce alternate forms of resisting, noting that our very existence is resistance and qpoc resist in their day-to-day lives via written, oral, thematic, artful & other means. We're aware that not all qpoc participate in "activism," but we insist simply being qpoc is taking a political stance. We'll come together to tackle issues, network in our communities, celebrate our creativity & redefine societal assumptions on what "resistance" is. The 4th Annual Queer People of Color Conference will promote that we are not a generation of apathy, we are a generation of action."

This is also a CALL FOR WORKSHOPS to be held at the conference.

Please submit proposals for your workshop by February 27th to qpocc2009@gmail.com

Your Proposal should include the following:
A 200 word/abstract/summary to appear on the conference program
An outline of the workshop
Names of presenters/organization

For more information about the Conference please visit our website, http://qpocc.webs.com (and scroll down), or email us directly at qpocc2009@gmail.com.

Congress swears in today! Let them know you care about ENDA!

Action Alert from NCLR

Today, January 6, members of Congress raise their right hands and swear to uphold the Constitution as they begin the new legislative session.

Let’s make sure the first thing they hear about is the importance of an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that protects all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

In DC, make their phones ring!
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 and have them connect you to your Representative (find yours based on your zip code). Tell them: “I am a constituent and I would like you to please tell Representative _______ that I strongly support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would ban discrimination against all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.”

Then, call back and leave messages with your two Senators too!

At home, set up a visit!
Request an in-person meeting for you and other community members with your two Senators and your Representative (or their staffs) in their home district offices. You can call the district offices to request these meetings but they often want you to fax a meeting request. To find contact info for district offices, go to http://www.senate.gov/ and http://www.house.gov/.

Sample meeting request letters, and other talking points and resources for your meetings, are available in the following toolkits:

The Task Force ENDA Grassroots Toolkit (pdf)
National Center for Transgender Equality’s Making Your Voice Heard (pdf)
PFLAG’s Bringing the Message Home

Let Us Know!
Let us know how your meeting went. Go to http://www.unitedenda.org/ and fill out the Lobby Report Form to tell us whether your Representative and Senators expressed support.

Kate Kendell, Esq.
Executive Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights

Useful Links & Downloads


NCLR's ENDA Action Center

United ENDA

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

The National Center for Transgender Equality

PFLAG's Bringing the Message Home

Lambda Legal

ACLU