Advancing equal rights

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is a leading supporter of gay and lesbian equality, based on our founders’ vision of a just and caring society where all people are able to live, work and raise their families with dignity. 
 
For gay people and their families, this vision remains stubbornly unreal. In the United States in the twenty-first century, gays and lesbians still do not have the same “privileges or immunities” that the framers of the U.S. Constitution claimed as the birthright of all Americans.  No federal law protects gay people from discrimination, and it is still perfectly legal in more than 31 states to fire an individual simply because of his or her sexual orientation.

Even today, gay people are more likely to be victims of bias-motivated violence than any other minority. And, anti-gay forces have succeeded in passing 30 state constitutional amendments barring same sex couples from the freedom to marry, an unprecedented use of the ballot box to deprive a minority of equal rights.

At the same time that these stark inequities persist, recent years have seen important advances for gay and lesbian rights. Over the last decade, more state and local jurisdictions have adopted nondiscrimination protections; and despite high-profile defeats in California and other states, more states are supporting marriage equality and recognizing same-sex relationships. 

The Haas, Jr. Fund believes this is a crucial moment for gay and lesbian rights. As the movement seeks to build on recent gains, it also must continue to fight back against opponents who have grown more committed, more organized and more vocal over time. 

Making the most of this moment will require new investments, new strategies and new partnerships. At the Haas, Jr. Fund, we are working with an array of partners to achieve the gains needed to tip the scales once and for all in favor of equal rights for gays and lesbians nationwide. We have three funding priorities in this work:

• Achieve marriage equality in more states. We are working with our partners in the movement to bring more states into the marriage equality column, including restoring this freedom in California. 

• Advance nondiscrimination protections at all levels of government. We are supporting public education efforts to allow gay people to serve openly in the military, and to end discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment, housing and public accommodations. 

• Build support for gay equality in communities of faith. Recognizing that opposition to gay equality often originates in faith communities, we are working to build support for gay equality among targeted groups of clergy and congregations.

Over the past five years (2005-09), the Fund has made grants totaling more than $30.4 million in this program area.