In almost 80 countries around the world gay people are outlawed -- to be themselves is a crime. Imagine a world where anyone, anywhere can be who they are and love who they choose. That's the world that AllOut.org is building and today we're celebrating a major milestone.
One million people, in every country on the planet, have joined the movement. Watch and share our new video:
When I launched All Out with my co-founder Jeremy Heimans and a staff of two in early 2011, I would never have guessed that a short 18 months later, 6 million actions would have been taken, from signing an online petition to calling State departments around the world to launching global protests. In just a year and a half, we've developed dozens of campaigns with partners in every region of the world and gathered members in every country to become one of the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations. And perhaps most surprisingly, more than 500,000 of our members are straight and the many have never engaged in advocacy before.
The movement is growing and it's making an impact. By leveraging the immense power of digital and social media to push back against anti-LGBT actions, AllOut.org has won real victories for equality around the world.
We raised more than $60,000 in three days from All Out members around the world to relocate people in Iraq targeted for violence and murder for appearing "too gay" Nearly 50,000 people signed an online petition asking FIFA to speak out against homophobia in the league, which resulted in an investigation and first-ever public statement against homophobia. We helped to stall Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill by gathering more than 500,000 online signatures, and contributing to tremendous global pressure. Our Brazilian "Equality Moms," a group of mothers of LGBT children in Brazil, reclaimed public space in a dramatic photo exhibit in plazas in Rio, Brasilia and Sao Paolo.
And we pressured Apple and 40 other major companies to drop support for the Christian Values Network, a controversial online platform funding anti-gay groups. And the list goes on.
Our global movement for equality is growing stronger every day. Even in countries where identifying as LGBT or supporting equality is highly dangerous, courageous individuals are standing up for love and justice with the support of All Out members around the world.
International pop sensation Mika has said of us:
"I've been inspired by the work of All Out and its members over the last year. In a short period of time, they've built this amazing movement of people all over the world. They aren't waiting for others to act -- they are getting together every day and contributing in big and small ways to make equality a reality all over the globe. That's something to shout
about."
Mika even contributed the song "Celebrate" (featuring Pharrell Williams) from his forthcoming album for use in a short video and over 100 All Out members contributed videos about their favorite All Out campaigns.
Numbers are not the only thing that matter, but having 1,000,000 people unite for equality is important. It means that All Out can throw its support behind one of the greatest social movements of our time -- the noble push for everyone, everywhere to have the freedom to live openly and love who they choose. You can't start a revolution with a click, but with 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 you can do more than you think.