Give OUT Day 2023

In the past year, MassEquality has been more active than ever trying to make the dream of equality a reality all across our state. But our work is far from finished – and we need your help to fight for LGBTQ rights in MA.

Truly living up to our mission statement of “equal, safe, and free, from cradle to grave” required committing to equality for all, we've been working hard to address anti LGBTQ+ battles across the Commonwealth, whether combatting an attempt by a local select board in North Brookfield, to ban drag performances, or testifying before the Fitchburg City Council against the flying of the "Nuclear Family Flag" to ensure further marginalization of members of our community. We hosted our first banned book fair and drag story hour as we continue to fight back on the attempts to ban books across the Commonwealth in school and public libraries.

We've also been heavily investing in our outreach and educational programming, including programming for parents, aging adults and faith communities.  We're also proudly working to continue to bring our Town Hall programming to members of the LGBTQ+ Community across the state and helped individuals seeking resources the to connect with direct service providers to assist them with their needs.

But our focus on local community issues hasn’t meant we’ve lost track of the broader movement or lowered our ambitions to make our state a worldwide leader on LGBTQ issues. We have actively been working with elected officials and coalition leaders to ensure that our voices and concerns are heard at all levels of government and advocacy. And our ambitious Massachusetts legislative agenda focuses on critical issues for our community, such as supporting LGBTQ parents’ legal rights, protecting incarcerated LGBTQ folks,  from transgender healthcare and gender neutral bathrooms. From expanding PrEP access to protecting LGBTQ seniors in long term care facilities, we’ve been advocating for bills that really matter to our community’s day-to-day lives.

In a year when anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been filed across the country, MassEquality has been dedicated to ensuring that this tide of hate finds no place in Massachusetts. Even here in MA, we've had to fight against religious freedom bills in our own state house. We’re lobbying for legislation to recognize nonbinary gender identities and continue to use our voice to advocate for LGBTQ-inclusive and culturally-competent trans health care. 

Now, we're turning to our community once again for support. From lobbying lawmakers on key issues, like LGBTQ parents' rights, to expanding our reach across Massachusetts, so equality isn't limited by geography, we can’t do it without you. Will you join us?