Human Rights Campaign

Federal, field and legal advocacy: at the federal level, hrc advocates for policies, regulatory changes and legislation that guarantee the legal equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. We faced an onslaught of anti-lgbtq+ legislation and have taken many of these state politicians to task via legislative and lobbying efforts. We are determined to protect trans youth, lgbtq+ youth and lgbtq+ people from this discriminatory legislation in as many ways as we can, including through major political endorsements for the upcoming midterms and demanding more from leaders at every level of government and across industries. We also collaborated with a partner organization to work with more than 200 major companies to speak out against the legislation. We are determined to fight discriminatory laws and elect lawmakers who will help to change the political landscape of our future.we also saw attacks on our fundamental freedoms make their way to the supreme court. The precedent set by roe v. wade, which constitutionally protected reproductive Rights for nearly 50 years, was overturned. We stood shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the movement working to protect and expand access to safe, legal abortions and reproductive freedom for every body.hrc engaged the biden administration on impactful legislation and policies related to collecting data on lgbtq+ people via federal surveys, abandoning an outdated and discriminatory policy that called for service members to be discharged or prevented from advancing because they were people living with hiv; and restoring title ix protections that were stripped away during the trump administration and further reinforcing protections for lgbtq+ people.in late 2022, we celebrated the passage of the respect for marriage act, arguably the biggest legislative win in the fight for lgbtq+ equality since the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" law was repealed in 2010. This guarantees the federal Rights, benefits and obligations of marriages in the federal code for same-sex couples; repeals the discriminatory defense of marriage act; and affirms that public acts, records and proceedings should be recognized by all states. It also codifies the same Rights for interracial couples. Hrc worked tirelessly to engage our members, supporters and businesses in favor of this legislation. We continued to work with state and national partners to track and organize field efforts around the equality act. Our coalition has helped educate and apply pressure to key u.s. Senators through targeted on-the-ground actions.

Communications & media advocacy: hrc advocates on behalf of the lgbtq+ community and effects change by telling our stories to the public through the media, which helps amplify our priorities while positioning the organization and its spokespeople as the most prominent voices in the fight for lgbtq+ Rights. The team works to ensure hrc's media presence is strategic, intersectional and consistently on-message and garners coverage in critical outlets around the world. Hrc maintains a presence in the lgbtq+ media to help educate, inform and mobilize our community. In fy23, the communications team was often in rapid response mode; informing the media and, by extension, the public about the impact of major news events on the lgbtq+ community, including anti-lgbtq+ state legislation, the supreme court overturning roe v. wade, corporate support for the lgbtq+ community, and yet another mass shooting that targeted our lgbtq+ family. The team was also proactive and garnered widespread coverage of the naming of our new hrc president, kelley robinson, as well as the release of reports on topics ranging from anti-lgbtq+ hate on social media, the historic nomination of ketanji brown jackson to the u.s. supreme court, key political endorsements and more.

Membership education and mobilization: hrc has grown to more than 3,000,000 members and supporters. We are engaging, inspiring and mobilizing more people to join our fight for lgbtq+ Rights and help them take meaningful action in the fight for equality. We maintained a presence at more than 250 pride events in addition to dozens of other local gatherings throughout the year. Those events allow us to elevate lgbtq+ candidates around the country, keep volunteers engaged, and amplify our work in the local community. It also gives these members the opportunity to hear from important speakers who highlight our work.hrc also operates an action center & store in provincetown, Massachusetts, which continues to be a key tool in engaging current and potential members and supporters.

Other program services