Community Gains

In 2024, we worked to realize those changes in our communities. Innovative new initiatives are making a tangible impact in the lives of LGBTQ+ people. We have been showing up for workplace inclusion, engaging directly with corporate leaders and offering guidance on how to navigate these difficult pressures, developing new data supporting the business case for inclusion, exposing the true intent of bad actors and their anti-business campaign, and mobilizing workers and customers to make sure their voices of support for workplace inclusion are heard. 

New economic empowerment programs are providing culturally responsive education and resources to help LGBTQ+ young adults navigate biased financial systems and gain economic stability. Fellowships and grants, including the Transgender Justice Initiative Small Grants Program, are providing community members with the tools they need to do powerful work at the local level.

We continued important outreach efforts as part of our well-established initiatives as well. More than 21,000 individuals at over 200 locations participated in the HRC Foundation’s National Day of Reading to show support for and affirm transgender and non-binary youth. The All Children - All Families program worked with 172 child welfare organizations across 43 states to embrace the principles of inclusivity and equality. And in a powerful statement of progress, 130 cities representing 49 million people earned the highest possible score in the HRC Foundation’s 13th annual Municipal Equality Index, a testament to local leadership and our ongoing fight for equality. 

Legislative Victories

We are seeing those changes in our statehouses, too. Even in the face of relentless attacks, we are witnessing signs of shifting momentum. Eleven pro-equality bills were successfully enacted in 2024, offering critical protections and recognition for LGBTQ+ individuals. Moreover, several high-profile anti-transgender bills have been met with fierce public outcry and ultimately vetoed in states like Arizona, Kansas, and Wisconsin. These victories, hard-fought and well-deserved, demonstrate that Americans are growing increasingly weary of these divisive political attacks that seek to marginalize and harm our community.

On the Shoulders of Giants

None of these gains would be possible without the leaders among us who bravely and boldly speak out against injustices that marginalize members of our LGBTQ+ community. Daniel Trujillo is showing the world that trans stories are everyone’s stories: He is a teen just like any other, facing the same rites of passage as the rest of us and living a far more relatable life than anti-LGBTQ+ bullies would have you believe. We are inspired by the story of Jessica Norton, the mother who is fiercely fighting for the rights of her daughter, of a transgender student-athlete in Florida. And HRC’s Brandon Wolf, who was galvanized into the LGBTQ+ movement after surviving the Pulse nightclub shooting, is using his wealth of political knowledge and communications experience to fight for liberation for the LGBTQ+ community. We are grateful to Jessica, Daniel, Brandon, and countless others for leading and speaking truth to power.

Facing the Future Together

The challenges ahead are real, but we face them knowing we have broad and deepening support across the nation. Despite the headwinds we faced, we made history. Sarah McBride will be the first transgender woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives. Emily Randall will be the first openly lesbian Latina in Congress. Julie Johnson will be the first openly lesbian congresswoman from the South. Today, over 1,200 out LGBTQ+ elected officials serve across America, speaking our truth and protecting our rights.

Yet we must be clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. The progress we've made toward trans justice is at risk. But remember this: We are the inheritors of resilience. Our ancestors taught us how to see a better future and fight our way there. When cops raided our bars, we developed networks to keep each other safe. When the AIDS epidemic was ignored, we demanded action and created change. When our relationships went unrecognized, we fought all the way to the Supreme Court — and won. 

HRC and our community have weathered many storms together, including a previous Trump administration and its attacks on the progress we have made toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community and attempts to undermine the rights of countless Americans. We have persevered as the Supreme Court handed down a barrage of decisions in recent years that signaled a massive rollback of basic rights and freedoms that impact us all.

We will show up and be with you. We are moving forward together in resistance and resilience. We know the challenges ahead, and we are confident that we have time to prepare. Consider joining us in 2025 — find your local HRC community, volunteer, and stay connected with HRC.

To every advocate in this fight: You are part of this legacy. You are the descendants of pioneers and protesters, the children of visionaries and revolutionaries. We don't just hope for a better world — we build it, brick by brick, heart by heart, victory by victory.

As we close this year, hold each other close. Take pride in how far we've come. And know that we will make it through this next chapter the same way we have always overcome hard times — together.