Human Rights Campaign
Robert Falk
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. By impacting political and legal systems, HRC is determined to end discrimination against LGBT citizens, and envisions an America where they are ensured their basic equal rights and can be open, honest, and safe at home, at work, and in the community. It advocates for equal rights and benefits, both within and outside of the workplace.
In 1980, Steve Endean, a LGBT advocate, founded the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF) to raise money for congressional candidates in favor of LGBT equality. In that era, several groups on the conservative end of the American political spectrum were gaining strength, as were their anti-gay agendas. HRCF was created, in part, to counter the growing influence of these groups. In the years that followed, the HRC (it dropped the word “Fund” in 1995) expanded its mission and became a leading force in the equality movement nationwide. Since then, it has supported progressive candidates, lobbied for equal-opportunity legislation, teamed with corporate America to gain needed protections in the workforce, and spread the message of equality. In 2003, it opened the doors of its first permanent home in the heart of Washington, D.C. The building serves as an important symbol of HRC’s work in the heart of the nation’s capital, and serves as a reminder of HRC’s pursuit of equality.
The following timeline chronicles some of HRC’s accomplishments.
- 1998 – Following the murder of Matthew Shepard, HRC led a national movement supporting hate-violence legislation to LBGT Americans. The following year, the U.S. Senate passed a major hate-crime bill.
- 2004, 2006 – HRC successfully led the fight against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have banned marriages for LGBT families.
- 2006 – HRC’s voter-mobilization efforts played a role in the election of more than 200 pro-equality candidates to Congress.
- 2006 – After years of HRC support and promotion of a provision to protect the retirement savings of same-sex couples from unfair taxation on the death of one partner, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act, which included the provision. President Bush signed the bill into law.
- 2007 – HRC’s lobbying led to both houses of Congress passing hate crimes legislation for the first time. The threat of a presidential veto prevented the measure from becoming law.
- 2008 – HRC engaged in a nationwide electoral campaign. Year to Win was an aggressive $7 million election effort to mobilize and motivate millions of LGBT and allied voters, helping to elect more than 200 pro-equality congressional candidates.
Year to Win helped usher in a new administration by creating a national grassroots structure that provided funds, support, staff members, and volunteers in battleground states for key elections and state ballot initiatives. As part of its efforts, the HRC hosted the first-ever live televised forum to focus on LGBT issues among Democratic Party candidates, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Broadcast on LOGO, an LGBT-oriented cable network, segments were replayed on major network and cable venues, highlighting important issues. HRC would go on to endorse Senator Obama for president after he earned the Democratic nomination.
HRC is poised to help move along legislation aimed at protecting LGBT health, safety, jobs, and other basic rights. HRC’s priorities include having Congress enact hate-crimes legislation, enact a fully inclusive employment non-discrimination act, and establish a timetable and plan to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
In addition to helping pass legislation, HRC annually publishes the Corporate Equality Index report. Released each fall, the report provides an in-depth analysis and rating of large U.S. employers and their policies and practices pertinent to LGBT employees, consumers and investors. The last report rated 583 businesses on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of LGBTs. The 2009 edition reported that 259 businesses achieved a perfect score, a one-third increase over the previous year, when the number was 195. These 259 top-rated businesses collectively employed more than 9 million full-time employees. They were protected from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression because of their employers’ policies on diversity and inclusion, training, health care, and domestic partnership benefits.
HRC also surveys its own members. HRC performed a comprehensive survey through the Equality Forward campaign to discover the concerns and priorities of LGBT individuals and others of diverse backgrounds because their opinions, beliefs, and priorities often go unheard. Thousands who identified themselves as LGBT Asian, Latino, African American, mixed race, and others responded. This survey will help HRC better respond to the interests and needs of those who it serves.
HRC’s legal team is an integral part of HRC’s work to expand LGBT equality. Robert Falk, HRC’s general counsel, explains, “Our advocacy efforts impact the legislative and regulatory processes, as well as change the tenor of the national discussion of LGBT individuals and families.” During last summer, HRC lawyers and pro bono law firms developed a comprehensive guide for what a new presidential administration could accomplish by either executive order or regulation to improve the lives of LGBT Americans. “HRC attorneys are currently working with the Obama administration on strategies to implement the highest priority projects,” notes Falk.
HRC attorneys also have partnered with congressional staff in preparing legislative language, evaluating the potential impact of proposed amendments, responding to Congressional inquiries, and determining how courts would likely interpret proposed legislation. Just as HRC works to advance LGBT rights at the federal level, it also has been working to impact the state legislative process. “Chris Edelson, our state legislative director, leads our state legislative advocacy in conjunction with the field department,” asserts Falk. “In addition, HRC is a member of a larger civil-rights coalition that examines proposed judicial nominees. In this capacity, HRC attorneys examine the records of potential nominees to determine their positions on LGBT issues, and how their interpretations of key legal doctrines would affect the LGBT community.”
HRC’s legal team is an essential partner not only in HRC’s legislative efforts, but also in its overall communications infrastructure. Members of HRC’s legal team often serve as spokespeople for the movement. “HRC’s attorneys have testified at Congressional hearings, appeared on national television, and participated on academic panels as experts on LGBT legal issues,” concludes Falk.
With a new administration, which has a new outlook and a new agenda, HRC is hopeful that many of the issues for which it advocates will gain more attention and support in the weeks, months, and years ahead. To learn more about HRC, visit. DB
From the May/June 2009 issue of Diversity & The Bar®