days left to the 2024 election! Your ballot is your power, and when we show up, equality wins. Click here to visit our 2024 Voting Center!
by Aryn Fields •
WASHINGTON—Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, is marking the first day of Pride Month 2022, with an op-ed and video message from Interim President Joni Madison that centers the crisis facing the LGBTQ+ community and emphasizes the importance of activism during Pride.
In the op-ed, Interim President of The Human Rights Campaign, Joni Madison, writes:
This year, over seventeen states have passed legislation preventing transgender children from playing sports with their peers. Two states have passed legislation preventing transgender children from using the appropriate restroom at school. Five states have passed legislation censoring LGBTQ+ issues in schools. And two states have banned life-saving, medically necessary care. Furthermore, statewide officials in Texas have tried to criminalize transition care for minors, and lawmakers in Alabama passed legislation to do so as well. In Florida, the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill was singed into law and blocks teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues or people.
In February, Gallup released polling that showed a growing percentage of adults in the U.S. are LGBTQ+ identifying—7.1% of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or some other LGBTQ+ identity. Bisexual identification is most common; accounting for more than 56% of all LGBTQ+ identified adults, and approximately 4% of the U.S. adult population. An additional third of LGBTQ+ adults identified as gay (20.7%) and/or lesbian (13.9%), accounting for approximately 2.5% of the U.S. adult population. Additionally, an estimated one in ten LGBTQ+ adults identifies as transgender, accounting for 0.7% of the U.S. adult population.
Other key excerpts from Joni Madison’s op-ed are below:
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: