Equality is most important to me and because of that, I decided to help the Full Equality Pledge team by doing what I can in Southwest Iowa by donating some of my time to be a team leader.

The Full Equality Pledge began in 2009 with eQualityGiving.org, an association of LGBTQIA major donors that created the first proposal for an omnibus bill, or one-bill strategy for full equality. The concept was even embraced by the 2010 National Equality March that drew over 250,000 people demanding “full federal equality.”

Act On Principles, Get Equal, the AEB Project, Marriage Equality USA, Out4Immigration, and other drafted the Equality Pledge. The document they created contains a list of all existing nondiscrimination laws that protect race, sex, national origin, and religion and calls for sexual orientation and gender identity to be added. It also calls for federal marriage equality, and includes immigration and family leave for same-sex couples.

The Pledge for Full LGBTQIA Equality:

IN ORDER TO FULFILL the promises of life and liberty, and to ensure equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the United States Constitution;

TO PROTECT the inalienable human right to be safe from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as required by international law and treaty; and

TO END the systemic stigmatization, cease the societal rejection and heal the suffering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans as mandated by conscience;

WE, the undersigned, pledge our support for the passage of omnibus LGBT equality legislation that grants full non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity equal to those accorded other statuses under existing civil rights and Supreme Court jurisprudence, specifically including:

1. Public Accommodations (Title II, 1964 Civil Rights Act)
2. Public Facilities (Title III, 1964 Civil Rights Act)
3. Federally-Funded Programs (Title VI, 1964 Civil Rights Act)
4. Employment (Title VII, 1964 Civil Rights Act; 1978 Civil Service Reform Act; 1991 Government Employee Rights Act; 1995 Congressional Accountability Act; 10 U.S.C. Ch. 37)
5. Housing (Title VIII, 1968 Civil Rights Act, aka the Fair Housing Act)
6. Education (Title IX, 1972  Education Amendments Act)
7. Credit (1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act)
8. Federal Marriage Equality (based on gender, sexual orientation)
9. Immigration, Disability, and Family Leave (Uniting American Families Act (proposed, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act)

We call upon the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus to lead the way by filing an omnibus LGBT equality bill by July 2014 that includes all of the provisions enumerated above. We further call upon Congress, and all candidates for elected office, to sign, this pledge to pass such omnibus LGBT equality legislation immediately, but no later than 2014 — the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act — fulfilling both their individual duty and that of the United States government to ensure justice, equality, and the fundamental human rights protections for all Americans. 

 

The Equality Pledge has already received endorsements from over 225 groups from 44 states and the District of Columbia. These groups represent the full array of advocacy, direct action, faith-based, statewide, local, marriage, immigration, pride, transgender/gender-nonconforming, community centers, and other community constituencies. 

As a team leader with the Equality Pledge team, I wish to work with local leaders who are our greatest asset to grassroots organizing and to empower the LGBTQIA and allies community to continue to push forward for fairness and equality. It is my hope to work with all advocates to get as many groups as possible to endorse the Equality Pledge and to call on our elected officials to stand up for the rights of all humans.

Our first day of action for the Equality Pledge is on Saturday, May 17, 2014. It is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. This day of action is going to do two things call for the end of hate and call for full federal equality. The event will be in Omaha, Nebraska at 72 Dodge Street Intersection the northwest corner at 2pm. During and after will be a time to discuss the Equality Pledge, how to get involved, and what to do next. Go here to RSVP: Stop Homophobia/Transphobia! Full Federal Equality NOW! Event 

Please join me in standing up for and organizing for Full Federal Equality for our LGBTQIA brothers and sisters.