EqualityMaine (formerly the Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance) is

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

's oldest and largest

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

political advocacy organization. Their mission, outlined on the organization's website is to "secure equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Maine through political action, community organizing, education, and collaboration." EqualityMaine consists of three organizational branches: EqualityMaine Foundation, a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

organization that focuses on educational programs in its efforts, EqualityMaine, a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exe ...

organization that uses electoral programs, and EqualityMaine Political Action Committee, a political action committee that endorses campaigns who advocate for equality in regards to

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

Mainers and supports legislation that allow for fair treatment and equality.

History

Founded in 1984 after the murder of Charlie Howard, it is the oldest and largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (

) organization in the state. In 2008, they were a primary opponent of an attempt to revoke an anti-discrimination law in Maine. In 2009, EqualityMaine was one of the main supporters of a push to recognize

same-sex marriage in Maine Same-sex marriage in Maine has been legally recognized since December 29, 2012. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages was approved by voters, 53–47 percent, on November 6, 2012, as Maine, Maryland and Washington became the first U.S. ...

. On June 30, 2011, EqualityMaine and

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is a non-profit legal rights organization in the United States. The organization works to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression. The organization p ...

(GLAD) announced plans to place a voter initiative in support of same-sex marriage on the state's November 2012 ballot. After leading the effort to gather the signatures necessary for a citizen's initiative, EqualityMaine was among the lead groups of the Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition, the group that led the effort to win the right to marry for same-sex couples in Maine. In July 2013, EqualityMaine announced a new, five-year strategic plan. That new strategic plan focuses the organization's work on issues that affect LGBT youth, LGBT elders, LGBT people living in rural Maine, and transgender Mainers. EqualityMaine's past executive director was Betsy Smith. In December 2013, Elise Johansen was named the new director of EqualityMaine. She had moved to Maine from Florida shortly after Maine had legalized same-sex marriage. Johansen replaced Betsy Smith, who had stepped down from her position as executive director. In the Maine gubernatorial election in 2014, EqualityMaine backed

Michael Michaud Michael Herman Michaud (born January 18, 1955) is an American businessman and politician from Maine. Michaud served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The primarily rural district comprise ...

, an openly gay candidate who served 11 terms in the Maine Legislature and six terms in Congress. Ali Vander Zanden, the political director for EqualityMaine, stated " ichaudhas been a stalwart supporter of equal rights for all Mainers." EqualityMaine has worked with the Human Rights Commission of Maine in order to make changes to driver's licenses in Maine. On May 10, 2018, Maine became the third state to offer a

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

option listed on driver's licenses after

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The new system started with a sticker on the back of IDs and driver's licenses, but will then be updated by July 2019 to replace the letter M or F with the letter X instead.

Operations

Currently, EqualityMaine has four full-time staff members, a board of directors, and several part-time consultants. The organization is sponsored by several local businesses, including

Hannaford Brothers Company Hannaford is an American supermarket chain based in Scarborough, Maine. Founded in Portland, Maine, in 1883, Hannaford operates stores in New England and New York. The chain is now part of the Ahold Delhaize group based in the Netherlands, and ...

, Coffee By Design, Idexx Laboratories, and

WEX Inc. WEX Inc. is a provider of payment processing and information management services to the United States commercial and government vehicle fleet industry. The company is headquartered in Portland, Maine and provides services in the United States, C ...

as well as both national and local banks. EqualityMaine operates out of the Equality Community Center in Portland, Maine and maintains an active social media presence that broadcasts upcoming events related to LGBT causes. The organization is a member of the

Equality Federation Equality Federation is a social justice, advocacy and capacity building organization serving and supporting state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organizations in the United States. History In 1997, a group of stat ...

References

External links

EqualityMaine.org
LGBT political advocacy groups in Maine Organizations established in 1984 1984 establishments in Maine 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Non-profit organizations based in Maine Equality Federation {{LGBT-org-stub Organizations based in Portland, Maine

History

Operations

See also

References

External links