Joe Solmonese

Dear Mr. Brown:

With this week's court-ordered release of previously classified NOM strategy documents, there are way more questions than answers. I know that you're one to keep your cards pretty close to the vest and that you aren't likely to spill the beans on any number of...

One hundred years ago today, an unsung hero of the civil rights movement was born. Bayard Rustin's contributions to the world far outweighed his credits -- and his 100th birthday is an opportunity to appreciate how his lifelong fights for equality live on today.

Rustin was the key strategist in...

Ask many transgender advocates and allies and they'll tell you that ABC's new sitcom Work It just doesn't work. Next month, ABC plans to premiere the show, which features two men who dress as women in order to gain employment. And while the characters in the show are not presented...

With no federal non-discrimination law and limited state protections, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index (CEI) has helped transform the American workplace for the better over the past 10 years. Released today, the 2012 CEI chronicles the remarkable advances that have...

On Oct. 1, I had the privilege of welcoming President Barack Obama to keynote our 15th Annual National Dinner. It was an opportunity to recognize the milestones we've achieved in the past few years -- because together, our accomplishments have been tremendous.

We've seen the first federal hate...

Yesterday, the Delaware House of Representatives passed a landmark Civil Unions bill by a 26 to 15 vote. The bill is on its way to Governor Jack Markell, who has pledged to sign the legislation. HRC has been working closely with the newly formed Equality Delaware...

Mirroring the old saying about what's most important in real estate, the three most important themes in the national conversation right now are jobs, jobs and jobs. This is particularly true for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Anyone can be fired for their sexual orientation in 29 states,...

There is little dispute that the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy, which forced 14,000 patriotic servicemen and women out of its ranks, marks a transformational moment in equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. While some are hailing this historic vote as a spring...

In the final week of a contentious midterm election when voters are understandably focused on pocket-book issues, a collection of anti-gay groups and politicians are crisscrossing Iowa in a bus tour aimed at ousting three state Supreme Court justices who took a particular view of the state constitution.

Over the past year, the national spotlight has focused on the deeply tragic stories of young people who were so severely bullied based on their real or perceived sexual orientation that they took the desperate step of ending their own lives.

These tragedies were entirely preventable. Schools were not protecting...

During the darkest days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, our cries for help from the federal government often fell on deaf ears. The lack of timely, reliable information about the nature of the illness and the outright ignorance that emanated from many in positions of power created the perfect conditions for...

As we all stare down Tax Day today, it seems an appropriate time to remind us that there are punitive federal taxes that penalize both corporations and their employees who go to work every day under policies that assert that working families should be treated equally.

Equal...

Today, the Department of Defense released regulations that will limit the circumstances under which a service member can be investigated and discharged from the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

These new regulations will have a tangible impact on the thousands of lesbian and gay service members who...

The anxiety leading to today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the disastrous "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law was palpable. Yes, we knew we had a Commander in Chief committed to rescinding both the policy and the law, but what exactly would the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of...

Look back on high school.  Who do you remember?  The kids who stuffed someone in a locker or the dozens or hundreds who were horrified when they learned about it in the cafeteria?   Look back on college.  Did those few people who were more than generous with their self-important opinions...

It's been said that Senator Kennedy accomplished more on behalf of the people that we civil rights advocates work for than any politician since President Lincoln. When historians have considered his 47 years of service, Senator Kennedy will likely assume a place in our national consciousness alongside the founders. I...

The California Supreme Court ruling brings bitter news: Proposition 8 will stand. While we take some solace that the loving couples who did marry in California will stay married, an estimated one million more individuals have been denied that dignity and right.

We are heartbroken. But we won't back down....

Like many in our movement, I found myself in Southern California last weekend. There, I had the opportunity to speak with a man who said that Proposition 8 completely changed the way he saw his own neighborhood. Every "Yes on 8" sign was a slap. For this man, for me,...

In a Tuesday night interview with Katie Couric, Sarah Palin trotted out the old right-wing code word: she said being gay is a "choice".

We know Palin's got a laundry list of anti-LGBT positions. But we wondered: what do LGBT people in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska think of her?...

Here he goes again.

With nothing else left in the right wing's tired play book, former presidential aspirant Gary Bauer is hoping you'll believe that election-year hate-mongering will make a difference in November's contest between pro-GLBT Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain, whose bad record on equality is...