LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
HRC SENIOR STAFF Joe Solmonese President Ann Crowley Membership & Online Strategy Director Robert Falk General Counsel Andrea Green Finance Director John Greene Human Resources Director Allison Herwitt Legislative Director Anastasia Khoo Marketing Director Don Kiser Creative Director Cathy Nelson Vice President for Development & Membership Betsy Pursell Vice President for Public Education & Outreach Jim Rinefierd Vice President for Finance & Operations Marty Rouse National Field Director Fred Sainz Vice President of Communications & Marketing Susanne Salkind Managing Director David M. Smith Vice President of Programs Christopher Speron Development Director
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or veterans of the Human Rights Campaign’s long battle to win equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, the past several months have proven that persistence and hard work really do pay off. Our biggest strides forward have been in the effort to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that bars lesbian and gay Americans from openly serving in the Armed Forces. In a stunning advance, both the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — our nation’s highest-ranking military officer — and the secretary of defense publicly joined President Obama in calling for an end to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. This development was followed by U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., introducing legislation to overturn the discriminatory law. Even former Vice President Dick Cheney weighed in, expressing support for ending the ban.
There have been other victories, such as marriage equality in our nation’s capital. And now, we’re involved in implementing the new, historic federal hate crimes law. In this edition of Equality, we underline how HRC, which lobbied relentlessly to get the law on the books, is deeply involved in training Justice Department officials — who work in local communities across the country — on the topic of sexual orientation and gender identity. After many years of tireless work and hardfought gains, the push for LGBT rights appears to be approaching a “tipping point” — the moment when change becomes unstoppable. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting close. As we move closer to equality, the enemies of fairness are becoming more desperate — and more dangerous. Understanding that the end
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of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” could be the straw that breaks bigotry’s back, the forces of intolerance are lashing out as never before. That’s why HRC needs your continued commitment to keep the pressure on Congress and the Obama administration to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” swiftly, push forward to expand marriage equality and other partnership protections at the state and federal levels, enact a ban on anti-LGBT employment discrimination, and enlist more fair-minded Americans to join the fight for equality. If you haven’t yet renewed your HRC membership for 2010 or sent a special contribution recently, please do so today. You can give securely online at www.hrc.org/spring or mail your donation to HRC using the enclosed reply form and envelope. Thank you.
Gratefully,
Cuc Vu Chief Diversity Officer HRC EQUALITY STAFF Janice Hughes Publications Director Carolyn Simon Staff Writer Sarah Streyle Senior Graphic Design Specialist Robert Villaflor Design Director OTHER CONTRIBUTORS Tricia Benson, Ty Cobb, Tiffany Dean, Justin Giaquinto, Sharon Groves, Gabriel Hemphill, Trenard Hodge, Ellen Kahn, Anastasia Khoo, Don Kiser, Jamie Kors, John Lake, Jason Lott, Timothy Mahoney, Megan McKellar, Mike Mings, Anthony Moll, Cathy Nelson, Susan Paine, Donna Payne, Karin Quimby, Allyson Robinson, Marty Rouse, James Servino, Ben Shallenberger, Quincey Smith, Chris Speron, David Swanson
Equality is a publication of the Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Equality (ISSN 1092-5791) is published quarterly by HRC, 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Subscription rates: Free to members. Printed in the USA. The Human Rights Campaign and HRC Foundation names and Equality logos are trademarks of the Human Rights Campaign and HRC Foundation. To join HRC, call 800-777-HRC3, visit www.hrc.org or TTY at 202-216-1572. Are you an HRC member? Have a question?
Joe Solmonese P.S. As the forces of intolerance pull out all the stops in their last-ditch effort to derail our advance toward equality, HRC needs your support now more than ever before. Please help us leverage our recent breakthroughs to secure full civil rights for LGBT Americans — by sending your most generous donation possible today.
HRC’s Member Services Team, led by Dana Campbell, works every day to provide HRC’s more than 750,000 grassroots members and supporters with the best membership experience possible. To contact Member Services, e-mail membership@hrc.org or call 800-727-4723.
All advertisers in Equality magazine are Human Rights Campaign National Corporate Partners. Because of HRC’s commitment to improving the lives of LGBT Americans in the workplace, all of our National Corporate Partners must demonstrate their own dedication by achieving a score of 85 percent or greater on the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index. Companies such as these have advanced the cause of LGBT equality through their own policies, and we encourage you to consider them when making purchase decisions. For specific scores, criteria and more information on the Corporate Equality Index, please visit www.hrc.org/CEI.