SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
LGBTQ+ Veterans Still Suffer Harms From “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Ten Years After Repeal
The repeal of DADT was a cause for celebration, but those service members subject to it still must contend with a loss of valuable benefits, bureaucratic intransigence, and stigmatization. Today, tens of thousands of LGBTQ-identifying veterans are still foreclosed from receiving the benefits they deserve. As the tenth anniversary of DADT’s repeal approaches, there is new movement to address these harms. If you or someone you know is a former service member who served in any branch of the U.S. armed forces, were separated from service for being openly LGBTQ—or because others thought you were—and received anything less than an honorable discharge, please contact us.
Impact Fund Joins Fight Against Transgender Discrimination at Starbucks
Most of Maddie’s coworkers were supportive of her transition and easily adjusted to her new name and pronouns. Over the following weeks, however, Dustin became cold and distant. He started avoiding her, cut her hours, and stopped talking to her about further career advancement. For months, Dustin insisted on calling Maddie by her former name or male nicknames, deliberating misgendering her. Outside of work, Dustin was a regular poster of anti-transgender memes and messages on Facebook and Twitter. When Maddie tried to discuss Guthrie’s hostile behavior with him, he ignored her. When she reached out to other Starbucks managers, she received no meaningful response. Experiencing significant anxiety and depression, Maddie had no choice but to leave Starbucks in June 2018.
Impact Fund and allies say "YES" to Equality Act
Since 1994, federal lawmakers have repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation prohibiting discrimination because of sexual orientation and—later—gender identity. The 116th Congress, with its historic numbers of women, people of color, and LGBTQ members, offers the best chance yet for the Equality Act to pass the House of Representatives. But what exactly would it do?