Dear LGBT Community,
Over the last 30 years, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have seen great strides in the movement for full equality. Much of this success is the result of a concerted movement, which was galvanized in response to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
In the decades since, our movement has seen incredible victories. Today, twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., have implemented nondiscrimination laws in employment to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Eighteen states allow gay couples to adopt children. Sixteen states have passed legislation protecting LGBT students from discrimination, with another 15 states specifically protecting LGBT students from bullying. Gays and lesbians can now serve openly in the military, and now 12 states, as well as the District of Columbia, have legalized same-sex marriage. More than half of all Americans support marriage equality, including the first-ever sitting president.