Joe Solmonese is the President of the Human Rights Campaign. With more than 600,000 members nationwide, the Human Rights Campaign is the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. Prior to the Human Rights Campaign, Joe was chief executive officer of EMILY’s List, overseeing one of the nation’s most successful efforts to elect progressive candidates by reaching out to heartland and mainstream voters.

A native of Attleboro, Mass., Joe lives in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Boston University.

Blog Entries by Joe Solmonese

Hearts and Minds Don't Change on Their Own

Posted October 1, 2009 | 11:06 AM (EST)


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...

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Getting the Times to Catch Up with Ted Kennedy

1 Comments | Posted August 26, 2009 | 03:13 PM (EST)


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...

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Prop 8 Decision: We Won't Back Down

40 Comments | Posted May 26, 2009 | 03:57 PM (EST)


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....

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You Can't Take This Away From Me: Proposition 8 Broke Our Hearts, but It Did Not End Our Fight

Posted November 7, 2008 | 04:40 PM (EST)


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,...

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LGBT Alaskans on Palin: Worse than Cheney -- and a Better Shot

Posted October 1, 2008 | 05:19 PM (EST)


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?...

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California Dreaming: Homophobia Will Not Determine this Election

Posted July 1, 2008 | 05:26 PM (EST)


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...

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Gender Identity Discrimination in the Workplace gets First Hearing in Congress

Posted June 26, 2008 | 09:58 AM (EST)


Today, for the first time ever, Congress is holding a hearing to educate Members of Congress exclusively on gender identity issues. This groundbreaking event should also lay the groundwork for congressional action to prohibit arbitrary discrimination against transgender Americans.

While the hearing will not focus on any particular piece...

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Health Care has to be a Right for All, Including GLBT Families

Posted May 13, 2008 | 11:54 AM (EST)


In our national debate on health care -- we need to remember that in America, health care is a right, not a privilege. Too often that's not true for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. The absence of federal protections, inadequate state laws and inconsistent hospital policies often result in...

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2008: The Year to Win for GLBT Equality

Posted April 28, 2008 | 01:25 PM (EST)


The economy. The Supreme Court. War. The lives of those on the frontlines.

We all know how much is at stake in the 2008 elections.

For the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, matters of life and livelihood are on the line. In the...

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A Major Landmark in the Journey Toward Full Equality

Posted August 9, 2007 | 02:15 PM (EST)


Tonight, for the first time in history, six of the Democratic presidential candidates will participate in a national forum on GLBT issues before a live television audience. Jointly sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and LOGO Television, The Visible Vote '08 will air live on MTV Networks' Logo at...

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Pass the Matthew Shepard Act

Posted June 19, 2007 | 03:12 PM (EST)


Sometimes not a lot of words are needed to describe something's power. This is one of those occasions. So, I ask that you take a few minutes and watch this video:

I hope you will be inspired...

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Here We Go Again...

Posted May 3, 2007 | 10:15 AM (EST)


In New York City, a few months ago, Michael Sandy was killed in an antigay assault where he was beaten, chased into traffic, hit by a car, and then dragged off the road and attacked a second time by his assailants. On March 14th, 2007, twenty-five year old Ryan Skipper...

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Clergy Supporting Fairness and Equality

Posted April 17, 2007 | 02:32 PM (EST)


Today on Capitol Hill a diverse array of clergy members from across the country gathered with a simple message of justice and fairness. They came from all different faith traditions ranging from Southern Baptist, Evangelical, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Judaism and Unitarian - to name just a few.

Their message...

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This Anti-Gay Epithet Should Be Beyond The Pale, But It's Not

Posted March 6, 2007 | 04:45 PM (EST)


Ann Coulter is clueless and callous. She has built a career out of demonizing other people and dividing our country. In fact it's that very behavior that made her rich. There is no reason to expect her to reform her ways. So, it should have come as no surprise...

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The Sins of Exclusion and Hypocrisy

Posted December 20, 2006 | 05:53 PM (EST)


Is loving someone of the same sex a bigger sin than hypocrisy? Is it a bigger sin than willfully demonizing members of your own flock? What about hating yourself? Is that what God asks of his followers?

Rev. Paul Barnes, former pastor of a Denver evangelical mega-church, surely grappled with...

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HRC's National Coming Out Day Video

Posted October 12, 2006 | 11:02 AM (EST)


This week, HRC launched a new video on You Tube. The clips reel is an inspiring montage of some of the country's leading celebrity, creative and political leaders talking about why equality and fairness for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans matters to them. Given the scandal in Washington over...

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Judy Shepard Speaks Out on National Coming Out Day

Posted October 11, 2006 | 11:07 AM (EST)


"My good friend and a good friend to all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, Judy Shepard, has written this posting for National Coming Out Day. I hope you take a moment today, and every day, to put Judy's advice into action."


Eight years ago this week, I...

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Foley: Who's to Blame?

Posted October 4, 2006 | 03:30 PM (EST)


It occurs to me, in watching the Republican leadership and their allies scramble for an alibi that flies in the scandal surrounding Congressman Mark Foley, that no one is stating one, obvious fact: that for all Americans, gay or straight, it is simply unacceptable to engage in solicitous behavior with...

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Pension Act Provides Historic Protections to Same-Sex Couples Under Federal Law

Posted August 18, 2006 | 04:24 PM (EST)


In the midst of a bitter and divisive political climate, something amazing happened on Thursday, August 17, for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender families. The Pension Protection Act became law.

Now, unless you're a financial planner, pension reform may not be an issue you study carefully. And, a pension reform...

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Human Rights Campaign Report -- Majority of Fortune 500 Companies Offering Domestic Partner Benefits

Posted June 29, 2006 | 06:35 PM (EST)


Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Workplace Project released our 2006 "State of the Workplace" report and I am pleased to say that it's a new day for the American worker as we mark a milestone in our march towards equality for all Americans in the workplace.

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