Dear friend,

This is a pivotal moment for equality, with the justices on our nation’s highest court preparing to rule in a set of cases that will define their legacies and have very real consequences for millions of LGBTQ people across the country.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral argument in three cases that could decide whether federal non-discrimination laws will continue to apply to LGBTQ people. The growing legal consensus is that our nation’s civil rights laws protect LGBTQ people against discrimination under sex non-discrimination laws. But as I shared with Euguene Scott of The Washington Post, if the Supreme Court refuses to uphold this consensus, it could be a dramatic sea change for our community.

On the day of oral argument, we saw an incredible display of support for LGBTQ equality. The Human Rights Campaign joined the hundreds of people rallying outside outside the Supreme Court that morning, including our own JoDee Winterhof who gave powerful remarks urging the court to protect LGBTQ people and our families.

These cases highlight how the need for the Senate to join the House in passing the Equality Act, and how crucial it is for us to elect a president who will sign this legislation into law.

Power of Our Pride. On Thursday night, for the first time in history, millions of people across the country and around the globe watched a presidential town hall televised by a major cable network where the LGBTQ community was in the driver’s seat — and where priorities like the Equality Act were front and center.

We heard from the Democratic presidential candidates about their plans for winning full federal equality, defending the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people and protecting the most vulnerable among us.

Fifty years ago, when the first brick was thrown at Stonewall and the modern LGBTQ-rights movement was born, few could have imagined nine candidates for president competing for the support of the LGBTQ community. But as recent years have shown, increasing support for LGBTQ equality means our movement is no longer limited to organizing and mobilizing self-identified LGBTQ people. As I wrote in an op-ed for CNN, the rising Equality Vote has the potential to put LGBTQ issues at the center of electoral decision-making and activism — both in 2020 and beyond.

In the months ahead, the Human Rights Campaign looks forward to doing our part to ensure we elect a president who will champion equality — not undermine it.

A Community In Crisis. The issues affecting the transgender community raised at last night’s town hall needed to be heard. This is a community in crisis. This epidemic of deadly violence demands attention by all Americans.

This week, we were devastated to learn that Itali Marlowe, a 29-year-old Black transgender woman, was killed in Houston on September 20. Itali is the 19th known victim of anti-trans violence this year and the fourth known victim from Texas alone. We join Itali’s loved ones in mourning. Urgent action is needed — including explicit state and federal protections for LGBTQ people, programs to expand economic opportunity for the most vulnerable, and an end to the dangerous rhetoric and policies that dehumanize trans lives.

Together, we must address this crisis — and that includes doing whatever we can to support the grassroots advocates doing critical work in communities across the nation. People are dying, and we cannot sit on the sidelines.

National Coming Out Day. Today is the 31st annual National Coming Out Day (NCOD), and in honor of NCOD, we’ve launched a powerful video and digital campaign highlighting inspirational stories of celebrities and influencers who have come out over the past year, including Lil Nas X, Ryan Russell, Willow Smith, Jonathan Van Ness, and Lilly Singh.

National Coming Out Day is an important opportunity to celebrate the power of visibility to change hearts and minds and how coming out can transform our lives and our movement. The tragic reality is that there are still far too many LGBTQ people across America and around the globe who are forced to live in fear. The only way to triumph over that fear is with love — love of ourselves, our LGBTQ community and the diversity of communities and experiences that enrich our humanity. We must turn that love into action — by living our truths and fighting for a world where every person is safe to live theirs.

In Unity,