Dear John,

As we enter the last days of 2022, I’m here to offer — or at least attempt — a glimpse of hope for 2023. But honestly, that feels hard to do right now.

Why? It’s difficult to feel hopeful when reflecting on a year that brought so much heartbreak and violence to our community.

I don’t have to remind you of how hard our state partners fought during this past legislative session to protect transgender youth, of the real dangers we are facing as LGBTQ+ people in this country to simply exist, or of how our community rallied together just over a month ago to support our friends in Colorado following the devastating violence at Club Q.

The bottom line: It is not an easy time to be an LGBTQ+ person in this country. And it’s especially difficult for those on the ground, our state partners who are doing the work to protect their local communities from physical attacks as well as attacks on our basic liberties via discriminatory, harmful legislation.

They still need all of our support. Donate $23 to fuel the work in 2023. [[link removed]]

This month marked my 10-year anniversary with Equality Federation. Despite the (many) lows of 2022, I have more faith in our network of state leaders today than ever before.

A couple of weeks ago, I joined with many of these leaders at the South Lawn of the White House for the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act. While we know there is still so much work to be done to protect all LGBTQ+ people and families, everyone took an afternoon to stop and celebrate.

There, outside the building that has housed presidents who have denied our existence, a bunch of queer and trans people basked in the sun together, feeling the joy of years of work pay off.
We will feel this joy again.

What’s next: While we know 2023 will be tough as we face more anti-trans attacks and threats to our well-being, we will be ready. Equality Federation is rising to meet this challenge with more staff, resources, and determination than ever.

I’m grateful you’ll be there with us along the way.

In Solidarity,
Fran Hutchins
Executive Director
Equality Federation

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Equality Federation
818 SW 3rd Ave.
141
Portland, OR 97204-2405
United States

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