Extremists continue to push anti-LGBTQ+ bills and try to shove us back in the closet, but we will not be silenced! We declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people– a move that was amplified by the Canadian government – and have fought back on every front. This unprecedented spike of hate is an outright attack on equality. Now, extremist House of Representatives majority has elected a bigoted speaker with a long anti-LGBTQ+ record.

We’re Here, We’re Queer. Deal With It.

We have seen a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation the last few years, and 2023 was no different. Legislatures introduced a record number of bills targeting our community — with a particular focus on transgender kids. But queer youth aren’t being quiet. Rather, they’re mobilizing like never before and making their voices heard.

We’ve also seen extremists attempt to silence members of our own community when called out for their anti-LGBTQ+ hate. Elected officials like Montana state Rep. Zoey Zephyr and Oklahoma state Rep. Mauree Turner are on the frontlines fighting for our rights. Despite attempts to silence them, they rallied our community together to send a clear message: LGBTQ+ people aren’t going anywhere.

Queer Empowerment

In the face of hate, we don’t back down. We fight back and we empower our community. Our Know Your Rights resource breaks down laws by state and our Guidebook for Action puts the tools in hand to fight back.

We also launched four new Coming Out Guides:

• Living Authentically as Black LGBTQ+ People,
• Living Authentically as LGBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander Americans,
• Living Authentically as LGBTQ+ Latine Americans, and a Spanish version Salir del Clóset: Vivir auténticamente siendo latinx y LGBTQ+.

Everyone deserves to live fully and authentically — and HRC is beside you every step of the way.

Many of these bills target kids and schools.

Victory in the Face of Hate

These attacks have failed – we are still here, still winning, and still joyous.

We cheered the victory of Laphonza Butler, the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent California in the Senate.

We are committed to mobilizing millions of Equality Voters to reelect President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the face of GOP candidates rallying behind extremism.

Our ads slammed extremists threats of government shutdown and we continue to prove that hate is not an American value. Love is stronger than hate!

Celebrating Queer Joy

Joy is resistance! We invited LGBTQ+ community members and allies to join us in Coming Out Against Hate for National Coming Out Day.

We’ve amplified queer voices and built a place for our community to share stories with our Queer Joy Phone Booth.

In all of these battles, there is joy and love. We fight for the drag artist putting on a show, we fight for the trans kid hugging their parents after coming out, we fight for the woman proposing to her future wife — queer joy is beautiful and worth fighting for.