# Equality Florida

Equality Florida is a leftist political advocacy group that advocates for civil rights and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) residents of the U.S. state of Florida where several controversial laws made life significantly harder for members of the LGBTQ community. Equality Florida consists of two organizations - Equality Florida Institute, Inc., the 501(c)(3) educational charity and Equality Florida Action, Inc., the 501(c)(4) advocacy organization. Together with over 300,000 supporters, these organizations form the largest civil rights organization dedicated to Florida's LGBTQ community.
In addition to their work in Tallahassee, they work with local partners, providing resources and helping to build coalitions that have passed pro-equality laws across the state. Equality Florida provides leadership trainings, volunteer opportunities, and sponsorship opportunities. Equality Florida has been ranked a top-rated non-profit by Great Nonprofits, Guidestar, and Charity Navigator.

## History

Equality Florida Institute, Inc. formed in 1997 by Nadine Smith and Stratton Pollitzer. Smith, a former journalist, served as one of the four national co-chairs on the 1993 March on Washington. Smith also led the movement to enact the St. Petersburg Human Rights Ordinance which was passed in January 2002.
Equality Florida Action, Inc. was formed in 2014 and along with its predecessor organization Equality Florida Inc., (founded in 1999) has advocated for pro-LGBTQ legislation and has successfully halted numerous anti-LGBTQ bills. The organization has also played a key leadership role in overturning Florida's ban on gay and lesbian adoption, which was struck down in 2015 and repealed in 2015. In 2014, The National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equality Florida combined to file a lawsuit to challenge Florida's 2008 marriage ban for same-sex couples. On January 5, 2015, a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge stayed the existing ban. As a result, the ruling allowed for marriage equality in Miami-Dade County.

## Programs

Equality Florida's Transgender Inclusion Initiative, known as TransAction Florida, exists to grow grassroots engagement and influence state public policy. It has now grown to 80 members since its inception in 2014. The charity's efforts have expanded from conducting workshops with major Florida employers to training media, law enforcement, health care and the faith community. TransAction has also been highly engaged in public policy issues, supporting fully inclusive human rights ordinances across Florida and Equality Florida's statewide non-discrimination bill, the Florida Competitive Workforce Act. Equality Means Business was formed by Equality Florida to spotlight major employers in Florida that have adopted comprehensive LGBTQ non-discrimination policies. The program encourages and provides resources to Florida employers who have respect for diversity as a core value.
Equality Florida's Safe and Healthy Schools Program was created in the aftermath of the Pulse massacre in Orlando in an effort to counter anti-LGBTQ animosity. The program aims to create a culture of inclusion while countering negative environments for LGBTQ students. The goal of the program is for each of Florida's 67 school districts to adopt comprehensive, nationally recognized best practices for meeting the needs of LGBTQ students and in doing so build a model that can be replicated nationwide. As of Fall 2018, the program has worked with over 60 school districts across the state, and has delivered LGBTQ+ sensitivity and best practice professional development training to over 12,000 school officials.
In the early morning hours on June 12, after the Orlando nightclub shooting, Equality Florida said that they would do everything they could to take care of the survivors of the shooting and the victims’ families and that they would make sure all money they raised went directly to those most impacted by the shooting. 120,000+ people raised over $9.5 million for the survivors and victims’ families on a GoFundMe fundraiser by Equality Florida. #HonorThemWithAction is a national campaign that began as a way for individuals to share on social media how they were honoring the victims, survivors and families of Pulse by taking actions in their community to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ and Latinx people. Over 147 million people were reached by #HonorThemWithAction in 2017 alone. The National Equality March made #HonorThemWithAction their slogan in 2017. The Human Rights Campaign, the National LGBTQ Task Force, Gays Against Guns and GLAAD are among national organizations that have used #HonorThemWithAction to help amplify the message. The effort has also been embraced by elected officials including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Elizabeth Warren as well as celebrities including George Takei, RuPaul, U2 and Sara Ramirez. Major league sports teams Miami Heat and the Tampa Bay Rays also used the hashtag to raise awareness about the movement. The Tampa Bay Rays created a video they shared on social media and played at their game during Pride Night.
The state of Florida continues to be one of the leading states on HIV transmissions. Equality Florida's HIV Advocacy Project consists of a statewide public education campaign to inform residents about Florida's HIV-specific laws. Equality Florida aims to modernize Florida's HIV laws to end what they term unjust legal treatment and stigmatization by the government. Equality Florida focuses on outreach to communities of color, with a special emphasis on black and Latino faith-based communities.
In 2007, Equality Florida formed the Equality Florida Action PAC to make direct candidate endorsements for the strongest champions of Florida's LGBTQ community. Equality Florida Action PAC quickly became the largest organization in Florida devoted to electing pro-equality candidates to all levels of government. In the 2018 election cycle, 74% of the Equality Florida Action PAC's endorsed candidates were elected to office.
Equality Florida hosts annual galas in Gainesville, Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Miami, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tallahassee, St. Pete, Jacksonville and Sarasota to raise funds for the organization's advocacy actions. The Institute arm also presents awards to local individuals who have contributed to advancing equality in the local or state areas.