NCLR’s Legal Director Shannon Minter testified in a U.S House of Representatives hearing on medical care for transgender youth, urging members to respect the freedom of parents of transgender youth to obtain essential medical care for their children. Shannon was joined by Myriam Reynolds, the mother of NCLR’s 2022 Courage Awardee, Cameron Wright. NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter in the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Hearing Room In his statement, Shannon helped...
We invite you to join NCLR today as we honor the 49 lives lost – and the countless others forever changed – at the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL on June 12, 2016. On the anniversary of that horrific night when so many of our community were murdered in a senseless act of gun violence, we not only remember those taken from us, we also join those who pledge to Honor Them With Action. As a young queer Latino and Orlando native who frequently visited Pulse, the nightmare of that...
Over the past year, we have seen more than 475 anti-LGBTQ laws introduced in dozens of states all across the country. From restricting healthcare for transgender youth to trying to erase LGBTQ people from public education and banning trans kids from playing sports in their schools, the non-stop wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation has never been more intense than it is right now. Included in the list of discriminatory and unjust laws we are seeing pass in states like Tennessee and...
The NCLR team is growing in 2023! Help us welcome Lisa Oman and Rachel Berg. Rachel Berg (she/her) – Staff Attorney Rachel joined NCLR because of her passion for civil rights law and her concern for LGBTQ rights around the country, especially in states like her home state of Tennessee. Before NCLR, Rachel got her BA in Political Science at Vassar College, her Master of Science at the London School of Economics, and her J.D. at Fordham University School of Law. She has spent her career...
We will not sugarcoat this: the leak this week of a Supreme Court majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, a ruling that would eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, is extremely alarming. It is also a wake-up call. While we do not know if the leaked opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will be the final one issued, it is nonetheless shocking to read a draft opinion showing just how extreme and dangerous the Court has become over the last decade. A...
This week, NCLR announced our new Senior Youth Policy Counsel (he/she/they and prefix Mx.) and we could not be more excited that the person filling this role is our own Danielle (Danny) King! Since our founding 45 years ago, NCLR has been at the forefront of protecting and advocating on behalf of LGBTQ youth, a value we cemented with the historic and groundbreaking creation of our Youth project in 1993. Danny’s new role with NCLR will continue this legacy of supporting the most...
In 2021, NCLR held a series of conversations about pressing issues in the LGBTQ movement with staff talking about what NCLR is doing to respond and what we see in the future. You can find out about those series of discussions (Forgotten LGBTQ Youth, 1st Amendment Rights vs. Anti-Discrimination, and The Modern Family) and watch full recordings of the conversations below. Forgotten LGBTQ YouthFirst Amendment Rights vs. Anti-DiscriminationModern Family PAST IN CONVERSATION DISCUSSIONS Forgotten...
At NCLR, we have been fighting to end the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy even before we launched our Born Perfect campaign in 2014. Since then, we have passed laws in 20 states and more than 100 localities protecting LGBTQ youth from this harmful practice. That’s why we are excited today to present Bobby’s Big Problem, co-created by Born Perfect and Enfranchisement Productions. This short film includes an all-star cast including Patton Oswalt, D’Arcy...
Today marks the five-year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL that took the lives of 49 mostly Black and Brown LGBTQ people who were out enjoying their night in what they considered a safe space. As a native Orlandoan, and someone who started going to Pulse when they first opened in 2004, I will never forget the feeling of shock, grief, and anger that coursed through my body when I first saw the news about the horrendous loss of life in a place I once...
On May 17, 2021, NCLR submitted comments on behalf of 14 LGBTQ and sexual health advocacy organizations encouraging the Biden Administration to adopt new regulations for the Title X family planning program. This critical federal program provides funding for health centers around the country that provide contraception, STI testing and other important health services to primarily low-income people, including many who are LGBTQ. The Trump administration had imposed harsh rules that drove Planned...
Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. We’re changing Florida through lobbying, grassroots organizing, education, and coalition building — so that no one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
Come Out With Pride
The mission of Come Out With Pride Orlando is to cultivate visibility, authenticity, and acceptance by curating inclusive experiences that celebrate and embody the spirit of queer resilience.
Orlando Youth Alliance
Since 1990, the Orlando Youth Alliance (OYA) has been providing safe spaces for LGBTQ youth in Central Florida. Their coverage area includes metro Orlando, but also spans out to include the rural counties surrounding Orlando. In 2008, they created a chapter in Lakeland, Florida (Polk County). OYA oversees the highly successful Polk Pride Festival which attracts over 6,000 people annually.
Southern Legal Counsel
Southern Legal Counsel, Inc. (SLC) is a Florida statewide not-for-profit public interest law firm that is committed to the ideal of equal justice for all and the attainment of basic human and civil rights. SLC developed its Transgender Rights Initiative to fill a gap in access to justice for Florida’s transgender community, including in areas such as access to legal authenticity, access to safe and affirming school and work environments, access to medically necessary healthcare, and more. SLC’s Trans Rights Initiative protects the rights of Florida’s LGBTQ+ community utilizing federal impact litigation, policy advocacy, and individual representation. SLC has litigated many of the recent federal cases against the state of Florida, and has successfully overturned the Medicaid Ban on gender-affirming care (Dekker v. Weida); permanently enjoined the medical care bans for minors and restrictions for adults created by SB 254 and the Boards of Medicine rules (Doe v. Ladapo); preliminarily enjoined the pronoun ban for transgender teachers in Florida’s public schools; and more.
Joy Metropolitan Community Church
Joy MCC is the spiritual home to a multi-cultural, inclusive, and diverse community of faith. We are rooted in the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus. We experience a vibrant spirituality that is positive, practical, and progressive. We’ve always been a totally open and affirming church. We welcome the full participation of people of allraces, cultures, ages, abilities, spiritual backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We share a deep sense of community where our diversity is celebrated, not merely tolerated.
ACLU of Florida
The mission of the ACLU of Florida is to protect, defend, strengthen, and promote the constitutional rights and liberties of all people in Florida. We envision a fair and just Florida, where all people are free, equal under the law, and live with dignity.
QLatinx
QLatinx is a grassroots community-led racial, social, and gender justice organization dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of Orlando’s LGBTQ+ Latinx community. QLatinx is committed to building a supportive infrastructure, addressing inequity, promoting inclusionary QLatinx aims to deepen the political consciousness of LGBTQ+ and Latinx individuals about intersections and complexities of institutional, interpersonal, and internalized forms of oppression. This work includes empowering local LGBTQ+ leadership to become cognizant of gender and racial inequities with the LGBTQ+ community and in relation to cisgender populations.
Community Spring
Community Spring is a grassroots organization dedicated to economic justice. The two pillars of our work are income and power: income to meet people’s needs and power to reshape the systems that keep them down.
Pride Community Center of North Central Florida
The Pride Community Center of North Central Florida offers safe spaces, resources, services and events to foster and enhance the well-being and visibility of LGBTQ+ people in North Central Florida. Visibility changes minds. Here in North Central Florida, LGBTQ+ people deserve access to safe spaces where they can not only express themselves, but where they can also be a part of a community. Come join us.