BREAKING: President Obama’s marriage announceme​nt

Just moments ago, President Obama made history by boldly stating that gay and lesbian Americans deserve full marriage equality.

In saying so, he reinforced what most Americans believe – LGBT people should be fully and equally part of the fabric of our society. Our families deserve nothing less than the equal respect and recognition that comes through marriage.

President Obama’s time in office has shown that our nation can move beyond its shameful history of discrimination and injustice.

I hope you’ll join me in sending President Obama a heartfelt thank-you note right now.

Thanks to President Obama’s leadership, millions of young Americans have seen that their futures will not be limited by what makes them different.

And now, in supporting marriage equality, he’s extended a message of hope to a generation of young LGBT Americans, helping them understand that they too can be who they are and flourish as part of the American community.

His words also remind gay and lesbian families everywhere that they are not alone or unheard as they struggle – like their neighbors – to afford healthcare and college for their kids, pay their taxes, and plan for retirement.

The burden of discrimination will one day be no more, in part thanks to the President’s leadership at this very moment.

Send a thank-you note to President Obama now.

President Obama has been a crucial ally to our cause. But it’s ordinary people like you, standing up for what’s right, who will continue to drive our movement forward. I thank you for your commitment, and I hope you’ll continue to work for the day when all are equal.

Gratefully, Joe Solmonese President

Turning the tide on HIV/AIDS … Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign

It’s hard to believe, but just three years ago, people with HIV were banned from entering the United States. You couldn’t visit a loved one, and becoming a citizen was out of the question.

Thanks to the hard work of HRC activists like yourself, we finally overturned the 22-year  ban, and now we’ve arrived at another big moment: the return of the International AIDS Conference to the United States.

The conference unites the world’s most prominent activists, researchers, and policy makers to chart a path forward on HIV/AIDS.

And as the conference gets underway, The AIDS Memorial Quilt will also return to Washington, DC – serving once again as a powerful reminder of loved ones lost to HIV/AIDS and as a potent signal of the work left to be done.

You can help mark this historic occasion by submitting a quilt panel to remember those lost to HIV/AIDS. Click here for instructions on how to submit your own panel, which we’ll put on display at our headquarters.

Just as we have in the past, HRC will host a portion of The AIDS Memorial Quilt – along with your panel – at our national headquarters in Washington, DC. If you’ve already submitted a panel in the past and would like it displayed at HRC this summer, let us know here.

HRC is also bringing experts together for a discussion titled Addressing Stigma in Transgender and other HIV-Vulnerable Communities prior to the conference kickoff.

The return of the International AIDS Conference to the U.S. marks the beginning of a new era of progress on HIV/AIDS. The travel ban might be gone, but fear, stigma, and misunderstanding remain.

All around the world and here at home, there are still far too many new cases and too many lives shattered by this disease. The conference and the poignant tribute of The AIDS Memorial Quilt will serve to connect important thought leaders and bring attention to this still-critical issue.

HRC is honored to be a part of it all, and I hope you’ll help us mark this important event.

Learn more about submitting a panel to The AIDS Memorial Quilt now. We’ll display your panel at HRC’s headquarters in Washington, DC. When you send it in, you’ll be joining with world-leading researchers, activists, and policy makers to help turn the tide against HIV/AIDS.

25 years ago, The AIDS Memorial Quilt helped inspire a movement that stemmed the tide of the epidemic. Now we need to revive that same spirit to meet these remaining challenges.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Still fighting,

Joe Solmonese President

P.S. Volunteers for the International AIDS Conference get free access to sessions and a whole lot of other great opportunities. To apply to volunteer or to learn more about the Conference click here.

Secret’s out – Right wing’s race-fuele​d strategy exposed …Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign

HRC just uncovered a document detailing NOM’s anti-equality strategy:

“Drive a wedge between gays and blacks…”

Say NO to NOM’s race-fueled tactics. Join HRC now.

Just yesterday, we uncovered a report from the far-right National Organization for Marriage (NOM) laying out their new, chilling strategy:

“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks…”

With their divisive plan in place, NOM is actively organizing and fundraising for hateful, anti-equality ballot initiatives and projects around the country. This most recent revelation confirms that they’ll stop at nothing to win.

Carmen – we need you with us as we respond to NOM’s most serious offensive yet. Don’t let the right wing divide us. Stand on the side of love and equality by joining HRC today.

NOM’s report goes on to suggest that the right-wing “provoke” pro-equality activists – like you and me – to “denounce” blacks who disagree with us, widening the gap in the progressive movement.

But it doesn’t stop there. NOM lays out a detailed plan for targeting Latinos, too. The report says:

“We must interrupt this process of [Latino] assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity – a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation.”

If you join HRC today, you’ll help level the playing field against NOM, support fair-minded candidates facing a base divided by NOM, and fight for the laws NOM opposes on Capitol Hill.

The desperation is shocking, but what do you expect from a group with its back up against an advancing wall of progress?

At HRC, we’ve invested in building a diverse coalition in support of marriage equality – and not just for diversity’s sake. The people powering this movement come in all colors, all creeds, all genders, and sexual orientations. But NOM wants to break us apart.

Say NO to NOM’s hate-fueled tactics. Join HRC now to fight back.

We know NOM is ruthless, but this newest revelation takes the cake. I’m overwhelmed by the unity of more than a million members and supporters like you who we count on every day to fight hate like this.

Race makes no difference when it comes to standing for what’s right. Your membership gift today helps prove that beyond any doubt.

Equality for all,

Joe Solmonese
President

the Progress Report: Marriage Equality Opponents – NOM

REVEALED: The Hateful Strategy of Marriage Equality Opponents

 | By ThinkProgress War Room

NOM Plots Shocking Strategy to Fan Racial Hostilities

Secret memos exclusively released last night by the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) outline the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) shocking and hateful strategy for fighting marriage equality in states across the country. In short, they planned to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks” by convincing them to fight over the language of “civil rights.” (They also outlined plans to drive a wedge between gays and Latinos.)

Check out the key passage here:

Here are some of the other lowlights from the previously confidential documents:

1. Bait Latino voters to oppose marriage equality as “a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation.”
2. Interrupt the “attempt to equate…sexual orientation with race” so that marriage inequality is not perceived as discrimination.
3. Draw attention to the “bigotry and intolerance” displayed by equality advocates and “document the victims” through a rapid response media team.
4. Emphasize the importance of “religious liberties” to limit the impact of marriage equality’s legislative advancements.
5. “Develop side issues to weaken pro-gay marriage political leaders” like pornography, “protection of children” and religious liberty at the federal level.
6. Expose Obama administration programs that “have the effect of sexualizing young children” or threatening “childhood innocence.”
7. “Find, train, and equip young leaders” to become a “next generation of elites” capable of opposing marriage equality.
8. Foster closer relationships with Catholic bishops to “equip, energize, and moralize Catholic priests on the marriage issue.”
9. Focus on “the consequences of gay marriage for parental rights.”

Progressives were quick to condemn NOM’s shameful and divisive plans:

“Nothing beats hearing from the horse’s mouth exactly how callous and extremist this group really is. Such brutal honesty is a game changer, and this time NOM can’t spin and twist its way out of creating an imagined rift between LGBT people and African-Americans or Hispanics.”

-HRC President Joe Solomonese

“NOM’s underhanded attempts to divide will not succeed if Black Americans remember their own history of discrimination. Pitting bigotry’s victims against other victims is reprehensible; the defenders of justice must stand together.”

-Dr. Julian Bond, Chairman Emeritus of the NAACP

“If the success of the National Organization of Marriage’s movement depends on stirring up resentment between communities, it might want to rethink its strategies.

“African American men and women of faith are not a political football to be tossed around in a cynical game of resentment and division. We, like all Americans, struggle thoughtfully with issues of faith, family and politics. Anti-equality activists such as NOM consistently attempt to use a deeply cynical ‘wedge’ strategy to divide African Americans and the gay community, playing up what are now old and tired cliches. In the long run, this strategy will falter as African American and LGBT communities continue to work together for equal justice.”

-Minister Leslie Watson Malachi, Director of People For the American Way Foundation’s African American Ministers Leadership Council

“NOM isn’t the first organization to use such cynical marketing ploys, schemes that seem to have little do with the interests of the people they claim to represent, and it certainly won’t be the last. But the revelation of its bald attempt to exploit black people and Latinos should help end the idea that NOM is an honorable group that would never engage in race-baiting. Because that is precisely what it has done.”

-Southern Poverty Law Center

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

Why television loves gambling addicts.

Obamacare at the Supreme Court, day two.

Speaker Boehner chides Mitt Romney for attacking President Obama while he’s abroad representing the United States.

Sen. Rand Paul: when Big Oil screws Americans at the gas pump, “you should want to encourage them.”

The Obama administration announced the first-ever carbon dioxide pollution standards for new power plants.

U.S. among worst offenders in annual death penalty report.

Why Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) should be a cautionary tale for liberals.

Mitt Romney’s house has its own lobbyist and a car elevator.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) admits the GOP has no plan to deal with uninsured Americans, despite their “repeal and replace rhetoric on Obamacare.

Kids need to see this movie … Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign

Kids and teens need to see Bully.

A powerful new anti-bullying film has the potential to change lives, but by giving it an “R” rating, the MPAA will prevent most kids and teens from seeing it.

Tell the MPAA: Amend your ruling and give Bully a PG-13 rating.

trailer is below …

For a bullied kid, school can be torment.

Daily taunts and physical abuse turn into feelings of hopelessness when teachers won’t help.

School bullying has already made too many young lives painful and frightening. It’s going to take a huge effort to put a stop to it – from schools, parents, politicians, and cultural icons.

That’s why I am extremely disappointed that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has decided to give a new documentary about bullying an “R” rating, making it nearly impossible for most schools to screen the film or for kids and teens to see it on their own.

Our partners and allies have already delivered over 200,000 signatures asking the MPAA to amend their decision – and now it’s up to us to keep the pressure on by flooding their inboxes.

Help us keep the momentum up with another 100,000 letters TODAY. Tell the MPAA: Amend your ruling and give Bully a PG-13 rating so that we can start putting an end to bullying.   WWW.HRC.ORG

Ratings are there to help parents and families make the best decisions about what their children should see, but in this case, the “R” rating does the opposite – keeping a huge part of the target audience away from the film.

What’s more, Bully was only given an “R” rating due to profanity, and the MPAA has made exceptions for swearing in the past.

In fact, the MPAA gave a 2005 documentary about the military a PG-13 rating even though it had 36 more instances of the f-word than Bully simply because they thought it was important for young people to see the film.

We agree: bullying is far more harmful to kids than a little coarse language, and over 200,000 of our friends and allies have already spoken out asking the MPAA to change the ruling. Will you send a letter now to keep the pressure on?

Tell the MPAA: Kids need to see this film. Reverse the decision to give Bully an “R” rating.   WWW.HRC.ORG

This documentary has the potential to change – or even save – lives. But we’ll never know its full impact if kids and teens are kept away.

With your help, we can make sure the MPAA does the right thing here. Thanks for standing up for our kids.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
President

Shocking moment at GOP debate — fight back!

When audience members booed an openly gay soldier at last month’s GOP presidential debate, my heart dropped to my feet.

It was offensive enough that the audience would jeer one of our service members. But that none of the presidential hopefuls on stage stood up for this brave young man? Unconscionable.

And they say they want to be Commander-in-Chief.

These candidates lend a megaphone to a shared platform of hateful attacks on equality. We see them every day from leaders of the religious right all the way down to a New Jersey schoolteacher’s ugly Facebook tirade earlier this month. But there’s no slur too small for us to call out – and no lie too large for us to tear down.

And that’s where you come in, Carmen. You and I and all straight allies can stand up to these right-wing attacks and create a safer world for the LGBT community. Help us fight back by becoming a first-time HRC member before MIDNIGHT TOMORROW.

With less than 48 hours left to our deadline, we’re still 142 new members short of our goal – and we need your support now. Don’t wait any longer – please join today.

There’s a groundswell of support for equality lighting up our country, but dangerous, hateful talking points are still far too commonplace. GOP contenders are pledging to reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and fight for a constitutional ban on marriage equality.

Every statement from the National Organization for Marriage and every speech by the head of the American Family Association drips in anti-LGBT anger – from calling equality supporters “anti-marriage goons”  to labeling homosexuality a “threat to public health.”

Hurtful, bigoted words like these get beamed into living rooms across the country and plastered across Facebook.

School administrators, teachers, and students take them as license to discriminate and to bully. Athletes take them as a sign that it’s okay to use anti-gay slurs. And Republican leaders in the House of Representatives use them as reasoning behind their multi-million dollar, taxpayer-funded court case in support of the Defense of Marriage Act. We can put an end to the hate, but not without your help. Will you fight back with us now?

We want you with us. Become an HRC member today to help defend our victories and build a world free of right-wing discrimination.

Time and time again, HRC has relied on a simple belief: equality is a right that should be afforded to all. It’s why you and I are part of this cause – and it’s what propels us through victories and setbacks. Thank you for everything you do to support this simple yet profound purpose.

For our future,

Joe Solmonese
President

No child should be afraid to go to school …Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign

It’s more evident than ever: discrimination and hate aren’t reserved for far right politicians and pastors.

Last month at The Master’s School outside Hartford, CT, a model student told school administrators she was a lesbian – and was immediately told to withdraw.

And just last week in New Jersey, a special education teacher publicly tore into gays and lesbians in a hideous tirade on Facebook, calling homosexuality “a perverted spirit.”

It’s all happened in the last few weeks around National Coming Out Day, a time to encourage openness – not intimidation, discrimination, or hatred.

If incidents like these make you want to stand up and say “No more!” you’re not alone. Since we launched our new Call it Out campaign, HRC supporters have written hundreds of thousands of letters holding people accountable for discrimination. To ramp up our efforts – from the airwaves to red state communities to the halls of Congress – we need 500 new members to donate in the next 5 days.

Join HRC now and fight back against the hatred polluting our classrooms and our communities. Help us reach the ambitious goal of 500 new members in just 5 days.

WWW.HRC.ORG

, we’ve made remarkable progress together in the last few years. From repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to boosting awareness of bullying, to winning marriage equality in New York – our movement has only grown in its victories.

But opposition to LGBT rights continues, and it isn’t relegated to the far-right fringe. You and I are up against mainstream, powerful organizations like the Catholic Church, whose top U.S. bishop just sent a letter to President Obama threatening a “national conflict between church and state of enormous proportions” if he continues to stand up against the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.

I won’t stand for these damaging attacks, and I know you won’t either – certainly not when lives and livelihoods are at stake. I’m counting on you to help us:

WWW.HRC.ORG
* Demand school policies that protect students, just as we did this week when HRC supporters like you sent 49,619 letters to The Master’s School asking that they adopt a non-discrimination policy;
* Continue to push New Jersey school officials to investigate teacher Viki Knox for her anti-LGBT Facebook rant;
* Mobilize red-state communities to fight for equality and help stop bullying through our “On the Road to Equality” national bus tour; and,
* Grow our Welcoming Schools program, which helps school communities embrace family diversity and reject harmful bullying and name-calling.

We need 500 new members to help us create a better world where fear and hate are no longer the dominant discourse – and we need you in the next 5 days. Join us now.

 WWW.HRC.ORG

Your gift today sends a powerful message. This is very much a battle worth fighting, and I’m so grateful to count you among our supporters.

Thank you for being part of this movement,

Joe Solmonese
President

She came out, they told her to leave school

She was a model student and a star athlete – an honest young woman in her final year at a private Christian high school, The Master’s School, in Connecticut.

But when school administrators asked her about her sexual orientation, she answered courageously and honestly that she is a lesbian.

And then those same administrators told her to withdraw or she would be kicked out.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students across the country are back in school, many facing bullying from peers. The last thing these students need is a school administration that refuses to protect them from unfair treatment.

Thousands of equality supporters like you have already sent letters to officials at The Master’s School calling on them to make it right and protect all of their students. Will you send a letter now, too?

Tell The Master’s School: Your LGBT students deserve protection – not expulsion. Now’s the time to enact a non-discrimination policy so that all students feel safe to be who they are.

National Coming Out Day was just last week and Spirit Day is Thursday – it’s a time each year when we celebrate openness and speak out against bullying. Together, we’re striving to create a world where no student, no soldier, no employee – no one – has to fear coming out.

In too many places around this country, LGBT students risk expulsion, bullying, and harassment that jeopardizes their academic futures and their emotional well-being.

The Master’s School in Connecticut has a chance to make it right with the student they asked to leave. They have an opportunity to lead by example – to institute modern-day policies, and to bring their model student back into their community.

Will you take one minute to send a letter to The Master’s School right now? Tell them to update their policies and treat all their students fairly.

The path to equality has taken us together on a lot of twists and turns. The Master’s School, with HRC‘s help, can become a model environment for diversity and tolerance in education, but they need to take the first step now and make things right.

Thanks for standing with us now and always.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President, HRC

President Obama’s powerful message to everyone at the HRC’s 15th Annual National Dinner

President Obama just finished his keynote address at HRC‘s 15th Annual National Dinner.It’s time to thank him for his support and remind him that we’re counting on him.Watch his speech here: President Obama just delivered a stirring speech at HRC’s 15th Annual National Dinner that has left me ready for action. In my introduction, I thanked the President for his leadership on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” signing breakthrough hate crimes prevention legislation, ensuring hospital visitation rights for our loved ones, and declaring the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and indefensible. When we got backstage, I turned to him and told him I could only imagine what his appearance at an event like this says to a teenager in Salt Lake City who’s too nervous to come out, or to a young soldier in Afghanistan who just wants to serve her country openly. And then I shared a message that comes from people in every corner of the country: “Mr. President, there’s a lot more work to be done, but we’ll keeping standing with you if you keep standing with us.”     WWW.HRC.ORG On the heels of his inspiring address, will you join me in thanking President Obama and asking him to redouble his efforts for equality? “We’ve got your back since you’ve got ours.”      WWW.HRC.ORG President Obama is one of our most visible straight allies, and every pro-LGBT move he makes in the next few months is going to come with a heavy dose of political scrutiny. You and I have watched as each of our  victories turns radical, right-wing activists more livid and their attacks more vicious. Anti-equality legislators are going to continue to fight marriage equality in the states while trying to turn being pro-equality into a liability for the President. And far-right candidates will continue promoting their vision of a world where “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is law again and hate crimes against our community don’t receive the attention they deserve. It’s moments like these that I’m glad the President is standing so publicly in our corner – but I can’t thank him enough by myself. Will you help me thank the President and remind him of the work that’s still to be done? Send your message to President Obama now.  WWW.HRC.ORG Every National Dinner, I reflect on the amazing community of supporters HRC is blessed with. Every victory we’ve ever accomplished is thanks to your calls, your letters, and your dedication. Thank you for your activism and your enthusiasm in the fight for equal rights. Proudly,                WWW.HRC.ORG Joe Solmonese President, HRC

What has four wheels and loves equality?

HRC is hitting the road, taking our message of equality cross-country. Join our “On the Road to Equality” tour at a stop near you » You can also download and proudly display these signs supporting LGBT rights everywhere. Dear Carmen, It’s been an exciting couple months. We’ve won marriage equality in New York, secured new protections for transgender people in Connecticut, and watched as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” crumbled into history. Americans’ support for LGBT equality issues is at an all-time high, but there’s still a long way to go in fighting discrimination and educating the public at large. Carmen, we are at a crossroads and we need to drive as far and as fast as we can toward fairness. So, we’re hitting the road – and we wanted you to be one of the first to know. Ten days from now we’re launching “On the Road to Equality,” our 12-week, 15-city, nationwide bus tour to spread the message and promote equality. We’ll be working with local communities to educate the American public and empower LGBT people to become advocates for fairness all over the country. Join us on this exciting journey. Come meet us at a stop near you or download one of our four fun “road signs for equality” to display your support everywhere you go: This tour will bring us to the reddest of red states where legal protections for LGBT Americans are severely limited and living openly can be incredibly difficult. We’re starting it off in Salt Lake City – where less than a year ago one of the Mormon Church‘s top leaders called same-sex attraction “impure and unnatural” in the days following a rash of teenage suicides. We’ll be traveling then to Omaha and Little Rock and Birmingham and beyond – carrying our message to states with few, if any, legal protections against discrimination. We’ll be holding workshops and forums to help local LGBT communities empower themselves even in some of the nation’s most conservative areas. Achieving equality isn’t just for LGBT people in cities or on the coasts. It’s got to be everywhere. Even if you don’t live near a tour stop, you can still join this ride for equality by downloading and displaying these pro-equality signs in the window of your car or home. Our bus tour launches in just 10 days and we want to see your support on display as we travel the country. You can also follow all of the action at www.hrc.org/roadtoequality. If you do join us along the way, you’ll get to visit our one-of-a-kind traveling exhibit and share your own story and experiences with our very nifty video sharing tool. We’re excited to have you on board. Bags packed, Joe Solmonese President P.S. You can also text ONTHEROAD to 30644 to join HRC’s ever-growing Mobile Action Network. You’ll get our updates from the road and beyond.