HRC serves on the Executive Committee for Fair Anchorage, a coalition that includes local organizations such as ACLU of Alaska, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands, Alaskans Together for Equality, Identity, and Pride Foundation. HRC worked with Fair Anchorage to uphold the city’s LGBTQ non-discrimination ordinance, and had field staff working on the ground with the campaign to mobilize opposition to Proposition 1 and elevate transgender voices and stories in the fight for equality.
“In a truly historic election, Anchorage voters refused to succumb to hate and bigotry by rejecting this discriminatory, anti-transgender ballot measure,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Community leaders, businesses, faith leaders, and public officials all spoke out in support of equality. Together, we sent a powerful message that Anchorage is a welcoming and inclusive city for all — including transgender people. HRC was proud to work on the ground alongside Anchorage’s brave transgender community and the Fair Anchorage campaign to expose the opposition’s shameful fearmongering and defeat this discriminatory proposition.”
Last week, HRC President Chad Griffin was on the ground in Anchorage to support local coalition efforts. Griffin met with local transgender residents, other community advocates and HRC Anchorage members whose lives would be negatively impacted by the dangerous proposition, including David and Col Lockard, a father and his transgender teenage son who have spoken out in campaign ads against Proposition 1. Griffin also met with Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, who signed the city’s LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance into law in 2015, and with other Anchorage residents.