Equality Arizona is a statewide political advocacy organization in
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
that advocates for
lesbian
A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
,
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
,
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
, and
transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
(
LGBTQ
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
) rights, including
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
.
History
Equality Arizona was formed in 1992 as the Arizona Human Rights Fund after the
Phoenix City Council
The Phoenix City Council is the governing body of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The council is made up of nine members, including a mayor and eight council members representing individual districts. While the mayor is elected in a citywide elect ...
rejected a non-discrimination ordinance to extend protections to gays and lesbians.
Structure
Equality Arizona is a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
nonprofit organization working on charitable, scientific, and educational efforts to promote LGBT issues.
Equality Arizona Advocacy Fund is a
501(c)(4)
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. ยง 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...
nonprofit organization that engages in lobbying on LGBT policy matters.
Equality Arizona Advocacy Fund PAC is a
political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
that endorses and support candidates for political office who support LGBT issues.
Activities
Equality Arizona engages in political lobbying on LGBT issues, helping LGBT supportive candidates get elected into public office, educating the public on LGBT issues, and providing support to members of the LGBT community.
The organization is a member of the
Equality Federation
Equality Federation is a social justice, advocacy and capacity building organization serving and supporting state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) advocacy organizations in the United States.
History
In 1997, a group of state ...
.
See also
*
LGBT rights in Arizona
*
List of LGBT rights organizations
This is a list of LGBTQ rights organizations around the world. For social and support groups or organizations affiliated with mainstream religious organizations, please see ''List of LGBT-related organizations and conferences''. For organization ...
*
Same-sex marriage in Arizona
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Arizona since October 17, 2014. The U.S. state had denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1996 and by an amendment to its State Constitution approved by voters in 2008. On October 17, Judg ...
References
External links
*
{{EqFed
1992 establishments in Arizona
Equality Federation
LGBTQ political advocacy groups in Arizona
Non-profit organizations based in Arizona
Organizations based in Phoenix, Arizona
Organizations established in 1992