Yesterday marked the official launch of the OurFamiliesCount.org website which will promote LGBT visibility and participation in next year’s U.S. Census.


This online public education campaign is a collaboration of LGBT community and allied groups that will motivate LGBT Americans to take part in the 2010 U.S. Census. HRC is a proud member of this coalition. The website has both English and Spanish language versions.

Although the 2010 Census does not include questions on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Census does count same-sex partners and their families, which in turn, provides vital information for and about the LGBT community.

In explaining why the 2010 Census matters to the LGBT community, Dr. Gary Gates of the Williams Institute said that “Americans have many misconceptions about the LGBT community that Census data have allowed us to correct. For example, among those in same-sex couples: one in six lives in a rural area, one in four is a person of color, one in five is raising children (two in five among people of color).”

The Our Families Count website is a centralized resource on Census information for the LGBT community. Find information about the questions that appear on the Census and how the resulting statistics on same-sex couples will be reported. You can also learn about efforts to get sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the census or on other important federal survey instruments in the future.

OurFamiliesCount.org will also help dispel common myths and misconceptions about the decennial population count. Census information is never shared with other U.S. government agencies for the purpose of law enforcement or compliance with immigration laws. The Census is never used to violate any person’s privacy.

So watch for those Census forms in the mail in March 2010 and make sure that your family gets counted.

After nearly 12 years, a strong hate crimes bill is finally on its way to the President’s desk and he’s promised to make it law. Upon his signature, the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will be the first major federal civil rights law protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Today’s 64 to 35 cloture vote and this evening’s final passage in the Senate marks a truly pivotal moment in our fight for LGBT equality. This last vote EVER on the bill happened because of the dedication of all of the people who contacted their legislators, educated their communities and gave of their time and money. But no one has worked harder than the families of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., for whom the bill is named.

Visit our Love Conquers Hate site to celebrate this victory and send a note of thanks to the Shepard and Byrd families for their years of hard work.

Read the whole letter at HRC's Backstory

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and you'll get this!

Judy Shepard has waited more than 10 years for this moment. Congress could vote as soon as NEXT WEEK on the hate crimes bill that would give LGBT people the protections they need and deserve, and honor the memory of Judy's son.

And tomorrow, during House Judiciary Committee action, right-wing lawmakers are planning an attempt to derail the bill with "poison pill" amendments. So your action is more urgent than ever.

Watch this powerful new video of Judy's personal story, and take action on the hate crimes bill now!

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization, today launched the “Generation Equality Scholarships” for LGBT and allied students who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the fight for queer equality.  The scholarships are part of HRC Foundation’s Youth and Campus Outreach Program, which aims to provide tools, facilitate connections and empower young people to fight for LGBT equality on campus and beyond.  To apply for the Generation Equality Scholarships, visit: hrc.org/geneqscholarship

Two years ago, George Bush's veto threat stopped the Matthew Shepard Act. And every six hours of every day since then, someone has been violently attacked for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

We cannot afford to wait two more years to pass this bill.That's why HRC is rolling out an organizing, media, and lobbying campaign.

But we need to raise $120,000 before the week is out to help fund this critical work.

Join HRC before the fiscal deadline TONIGHT, and help pass this landmark legislation.

In early December, Jose Sucuzhañay, a real estate broker and father of two, was attacked by a gang of men in Brooklyn. They beat him to death with a baseball bat while yelling anti-Hispanic and anti-gay slurs. He had been walking arm-in-arm with his brother, huddling against the cold.

Just days later, near San Francisco, four men attacked a woman with a rainbow sticker on her car, taunted her for being a lesbian, drove her to an abandoned building and brutally raped her, leaving her naked on the street.

We must give local law enforcement the tools they need to investigate and prosecute these heinous crimes. Help us raise $120,000 to fight for the Matthew Shepard Act.