by HRC Staff •
LGBT equality organization aims to empower community, educate in the Cornhusker State
8/19/2011
Washington – The Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization – is in Nebraska, August 19-21 as part of “On the Road to Equality,” a nationwide bus tour to spread the message of equality by educating the American public and empowering LGBT people to become advocates for themselves and their families. The 12 week tour will travel to 17 cities in 11 states and D.C., with particular emphasis on the Midwest and South where there are limited legal protections for LGBT people and living openly and honestly can be difficult. The bus will travel to Nebraska for events in both Omaha and Lincoln, in partnership with Citizens for Equal Protection, Nebraska’s state-wide LGBT equality organization. Events will include everything from educational seminars on legal documents for families to community forums about family acceptance to participating in the University of Nebraska’s “Big Red Welcome.”
“We are in the midst of a cultural tipping point on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues and our job is to push the scale as far and as fast as we can toward fairness,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “The tour will serve as a powerful visibility tool and support the work of creating real and lasting change in these communities.”
In conjunction with the bus tour, HRC also released nationwide and local polls that found Americans widely support LGBT equality issues but more work remains to be done – particularly in the South and Midwest where support lags other regions. In Nebraska alone, support for non-discrimination protections for LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations is strong at 73 percent, as is support for protections against bullying in schools at 73 percent. An overwhelming majority of Nebraskans (73 percent) believe anti-LGBT discrimination is a problem in our country.
Among the 11 states the “On the Road to Equality” tour will visit, none has a state-wide non-discrimination law including sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, none has any form of state relationship recognition and all have passed discriminatory constitutional amendments to ban marriage for same-sex couples. Many have laws prohibiting the positive discussion of gays and lesbians in schools and few have safe-schools laws that include LGBT students. For more information on the tour, including other stops and legal landscape in these states, visit www.hrc.org/EqualityTourPress.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
To make a general inquiry, please visit our contact page. Members of the media can reach our press office at: (202) 572-8968 or email press@hrc.org.
Image:
100% of every HRC merchandise purchase fuels the fight for equality.