Equality Alabama
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Chair | Patrica Todd |
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| Website | Official website |
Equality Alabama is a statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered civil rights organization in Alabama. Equality Alabama was formed by the merger of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Alabama and Equality Begins at Home of Central Alabama.[1]
Although formed several years earlier, the organization began to increase its activity prior to the 2005 referendum that banned same-sex marriage in the state. Representatives for the organization have stated that the additional visibility was in reaction to increasingly anti-gay legislation being brought forth in the state government. Proposed, but thus far not enacted, state legislation has included banning the adoption of children by LGBT people and prohibiting libraries from purchasing literature that portrays homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.[2]
Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, Ken Baker of Equality Alabama told The New York Times: "Some people in our organization are very concerned about a backlash. We'll deal with it if it happens."[3]
Opposition to Sanctity of Marriage Amendment
In 2005, when the state legislature voted to hold a public referendum on the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, Equality Alabama's chair Howard Bayless said the legislators were "meddling into the lives of families. The government is deciding what our families are and what families are made of, and to me that's unconscionable."[4] Before the referendum, Equality Alabama opened offices in Montgomery and Birmingham and sponsored programs to increase LGBT visibility and attempt to sway voters.[2] The amendment passed, however, by a 81% margin in favor of forbidding recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions.[5]
Hate crimes legislation
The organization sponsors an annual Vigil for Victims of Hate and Violence to heighten awareness of the lack of hate crime legislation in Alabama. It was first organized after the brutal Sylacauga murder of Billy Jack Gaither in 1999.[6] The 13th annual event was held on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol on February 20, 2011.[7][8]
Affiliations
Equality Alabama partners with other human rights organizations. It is a member of the Alabama Safe Schools Coalition, a coalition dedicated to making Alabama schools into learning environments that are free from discrimination, harassment, and violence.[9] In 2011 it partnered with the Human Rights Campaign, Auburn University at Montgomery's Gay–Straight Alliance, and PFLAG-Montgomery in sponsoring a "Road To Equality" bus tour that visited various cities around the state. It carried media presentations focusing on equal rights for LGBT people.[10][11]
Other activity
Equality Alabama filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the lawsuit brought by the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama against Alabama's 2011 anti-illegal immigration law, the Hammon-Beason Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act.[12][13]
See also
References
- ^ "Mission". Equality Alabama. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ a b Phillip Rawls (August 21, 2005). "Gay Rights Group Comes Out In Alabama". Gadsden Times. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ New York Times: Sarah Kershaw, "Adversaries on Gay Rights Vow State-by-State Fight," July 6, 2003, accessed February 5, 2012: "Alabama is considered by gay rights activists to be one of the most resistant states to gay rights."
- ^ Phillip Rawls (March 11, 2005). "Gay marriage: You decide". Decatur Daily. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ^ DOMAwatch.org - Alabama Alliance Defense Fund. 2006. Accessed February 4, 2011.
- ^ "Ken Baker Resolution" (PDF). Equality Alabama. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ Joe Openshaw (February 6, 2011). "Insight: Equality Alabama announces legislative agenda". Press-Register. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ^ "Anti-Violence". Equality Alabama. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ "Home". Alabama Safe Schools Coalition. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ Christine Kneidinger Hull (October 18, 2011). "Human Rights Campaign tour bus to make stop at Auburn Montgomery". al.com. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ^ Chris Pow (October 20, 2011). "Human Rights Campaign tour bus stopping at University of Alabama". al.com. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ^ "Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, et al. vs State of Alabama" (PDF). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ "Brief of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP and Other Amici Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants" (PDF). Society of American Law Teachers. Retrieved February 19, 2012.