Hi John,

This moment is unfathomably hard. There is absolutely no way to get around that.

At Equality Federation, we envision a world where all LGBTQ+ people can thrive in the communities they call home. We believe in fairness and treating each other with dignity and respect. Yet, in an alarmingly short amount of time, we’ve seen the Trump administration issue a number of executive orders that directly target and attack LGBTQ+ people — especially trans and non-binary communities — immigration, DEI programs, and access to critical funding for HIV research and prevention.

To be clear, executive orders are not law. They are meant to create chaos and fear. Some will go into effect immediately, while many will be challenged in court. But these wishlists from the President have already impacted our communities.

Trans youth are losing access to life-saving, medically necessary care.
LGBTQ+ and progressive organizations’ programs are facing funding threats.
Trans people have even more barriers to obtaining accurate identity documents.

Our state partners are feeling the impact the hardest. As leaders and activists on the ground, their local communities are turning to them for answers. And they are doing everything they can to provide clarity, care, and concrete actions for their people to take.

This is why state-based advocacy is critical to the bigger picture—the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation, immigration rights, and bodily autonomy doesn’t just happen in D.C.; it happens in every city, county, and statehouse across the country. It is in your local community where the greatest impact of these federal actions will be felt.

Now is the time to get engaged. Find your state LGBTQ+ organization and get involved today.

Our team is doing what we were built to do: build capacity within LGBTQ+ state-based advocacy organizations and alongside strategic leaders to advance systemic change. We remain steadfast in our commitment to enacting change through capacity building and leadership development of those who are closer to the problem and the solutions.

Please hold strong. We’ve fought tyrants hungry for power before, but it is going to take more of us this time to fight the villains we are up against. Time and again, when our community’s rights are threatened, we have resisted, organized, and built an intersectional movement that refuses to be ignored. We can do this.

We’re grateful you’re here with us, it’s needed now more than ever. We’ve got this. We’ve got us.

Together,