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PuyoPiyo · 10-04-2007, 09:19 PM

While I research around the Human Rights Campaign, it appears that they are planning even more.

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Mission Statement

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

HRC seeks to improve the lives of GLBT Americans by advocating for equal rights and benefits in the workplace, ensuring families are treated equally under the law and increasing public support among all Americans through innovative advocacy, education and outreach programs. HRC works to secure equal rights for GLBT individuals and families at the federal and state levels by lobbying elected officials, mobilizing grassroots supporters, educating Americans, investing strategically to elect fair-minded officials and partnering with other GLBT organizations.

HRC | Mission Statement

So yes, it include the discrimination in workplaces. Also the education part really excited me because that could reduce the hate crime for the students before they graduated, just like they educated about the race. There are very few people that are victim of racist because of the school education, that can happen to the GLBT too.

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Educational Outreach

Through research, educational efforts and outreach, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation encourages gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans to live their lives openly and seeks to change the hearts and minds of Americans to the side of equality.

The HRC Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Programs funded in part or in full through the HRC Foundation include:

The HRC Coming Out Project, which encourages GLBT and straight-supportive Americans to come out and live openly by providing resources that empower them to talk about their lives and advocate for GLBT equality.
The HRC Family Project, which empowers members of the GLBT community to take action to protect their families, improves the practices within key institutions that serve GLBT families and promotes visibility of GLBT families.
The HRC Historically Black Colleges and Universities Outreach Program, which trains student activists to sustain dialogue, build viable student-led GLBT organizations and open campus-wide debate on the issues that affect the GLBT community, often for the first time.
The HRC Religion and Faith Program, which amplifies the voices of clergy who support GLBT equality while also equipping and empowering people of faith to talk about GLBT issues from a religious perspective.
The HRC Research Center, which serves as a comprehensive and authoritative source of research on GLBT issues for members of the media, lawmakers, pro-equality advocates and other thought leaders.
The HRC Workplace Project, which promotes equality in the workplace by advocating for policies that prohibit discrimination against GLBT workers, provide employees with equal benefits and diversity training and encourage appropriate marketing.

HRC | Educational Outreach

And some of their lastest news.

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HRC Launches Full-Scale Nationwide Call to Action in Support of Inclusive ENDA

10/3/2007

WASHINGTON – Today, the Human Rights Campaign launched a nationwide call to action to the organization’s 700,000 members and supporters to begin an immediate campaign to urge their Members of Congress to support ENDA legislation the protects the entire GLBT organization. To view the Call to Action from Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese and to take immediate action online, please go to: Take Action: Equal Opportunity...unless you're GLBT

In addition to the written Call to Action, HRC President Joe Solmonese taped the following video message personally asking each of our members and supporters to have their voices heard on Capitol Hill in support of a fully inclusive ENDA bill. To view the video, go to: HRC | Home

Solmonese’s Call to Action is below:

"Late last week, House leaders announced their decision to change the language of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) so that it only includes sexual orientation and not gender identity. These House leaders have said that they do not have enough votes to move forward with the original fully-inclusive bill.

We are profoundly disappointed by this move, and I want to explain our position and ask you to write your congress member today.

Tell your representative we need an employment discrimination law that includes the entire GLBT community.

Since 2004, the Human Rights Campaign’s policy has been to only support civil rights legislation that is inclusive of gender identity - a policy that was reaffirmed by our Board of Directors in a vote on Monday night.

That’s why we fought tirelessly for - and won - Congressional approval for a hate crimes bill that includes gender identity, and have been working for years to pass an inclusive employment discrimination bill.

This year we ramped up our lobby presence on the Hill, helped coordinate broad coalition efforts, and deployed our field team to more than 40 key congressional districts to mobilize unprecedented support for an inclusive ENDA. We secured the active support of corporate America, with more than 50 major companies joining our Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness. Our Religion and Faith Program was instrumental as well, giving voice to thousands of faith leaders across the country. We secured supportive editorials from a record number of newspapers, and with your help we generated hundreds of thousands of constituent contacts to members of Congress, through emails, phone calls, postcards, and thousands of hand-written letters.

However, we’re facing a stark reality. The House leadership and bill sponsors are moving forward with a non-inclusive ENDA - even without the full support of our community. They view this as the best opportunity this year to get a successful vote on legislation extending protections to the largest number of people.

I want you to know we made every possible effort to avoid having a non-inclusive bill introduced and we did succeed in helping convince Congressional leaders to delay action on the new bill until later this month.

We now have a window of opportunity to try and line up the votes we need to pass a fully-inclusive ENDA.

We’ve delivered HRC’s message to Congress, but I’m asking you today to send your own message. Your Representative must understand that supporters of equality will not rest until rights are extended to everyone in the GLBT community.

Tell your Representative you stand behind legislation that will provide the same protections to all GLBT people.

This has been a long battle. HRC first started the quest for ENDA in 1994. We’ve been pushing for an inclusive bill since 2004. This month, ENDA could pass the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in history.

I implore you to take action today and to forward this message to your family and friends. Working together, I am confident we can pass historic civil rights legislation."

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

HRC | HRC Launches Full-Scale Nationwide Call to Action in Support of Inclusive ENDA

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Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Vote to Reaffirm 2004 Policy on ENDA

10/2/2007

WASHINGTON - Last night, the Human Rights Campaign’s Board of Directors voted to reaffirm the 2004 policy supporting a fully inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Therefore, HRC will not support the newly introduced sexual orientation only bill. The board’s position articulates a process for continued dialogue with House leaders about strategies that have been put forth to, in the end, achieve passage of a fully inclusive ENDA.

"We are now faced with definitive Congressional action to move forward a version of the bill stripping gender identity. Though we support a fully inclusive ENDA, we acknowledge the legislative strategy put forth by Congressman Frank and the Democratic leadership to obtain a clear path towards an inclusive bill in the future," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "We look forward to working with them to accomplish the goal all of us share - ending workplace discrimination against the entire GLBT community."

"Since 2004, HRC has had in place a policy that supports only a fully inclusive version of ENDA and the Board of Directors voted to reaffirm that position," Solmonese continued. "Therefore, we are not able to support, nor will we encourage Members of Congress to vote against, the newly introduced sexual orientation only bill. And will continue working with our allies in Congress to support a comprehensive, legislative strategy to achieve passage of a fully inclusive ENDA as quickly as possible."

The Human Rights Campaign has been and continues to be on the front lines actively and exhaustively advocating for an inclusive piece of legislation that protects all members of our community. HRC has led the charge on Capitol Hill for an inclusive bill and has focused grassroots organizing in 40 congressional districts across the country targeting moderate Members of Congress to educate them on the need for a bill protecting the entire GLBT community.

"For more than a decade HRC has been aggressively working to secure employment protections for the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Even in the dark days of anti-gay leadership in Congress, we moved Corporate America forward because we refused to accept that progress wasn’t possible. And today, we again reject the notion that progress isn’t possible by rededicating our efforts to specifically educate members of Congress on the need for gender identity protections in the workplace," said Solmonese.

"Some may say we should have joined the growing chorus of public dissenters earlier. We believed, and still do, that the correct course of action was to continue dialogue with our allies on the Hill and work to the last minute to effect change," said Solmonese. "That decision, in addition to yesterday’s letter signed by GLBT and civil rights organizations, paid off when we were able to engage in direct conversations that resulted in a guarantee from House leadership to postpone the mark-up until later this month."

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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HRC | Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Vote to Reaffirm 2004 Policy on ENDA