Non-Profit Soapbox

Legislation aimed at reinforcing the criminalization of LGBT relationships, identities and expression has appeared in many countries around the world in recent years. These laws often are accompanied by additional legislative attempts to curtail civil society’s freedom of association and financing -- often targeting LGBTI groups exclusively or in unique ways. Even where laws criminalizing homosexuality are rarely enforced, they may be used to harass, extort money from, or otherwise degrade the lives of LGBT or intersex individuals. In many countries, LGBTI citizens are denied equal access to employment, education, housing or health care, and often even fundamental freedoms of speech, association, and expression are denied.

In response, the Council encourages the U.S. Government to promote fair and just treatment of LGBTI individuals at home and abroad. We support passage of laws to extend equal rights and responsibilities to LGBTI citizens. We partner with U.S. embassies and the State Department to promote legal reform and fair policies that promote the just treatment of LGBTI individuals everywhere. We support efforts by legal advisers in U.S. embassies abroad to help foreign governments rewrite discriminatory laws, even while recognizing that our own government is undertaking an equally important debate around law reform to extend full civil rights protections to LGBT and intersex Americans. We also advise the State Department, USAID and development partners to connect LGBTI communities with needed legal help in fighting discriminatory treatment and promoting non-discrimination and protection by governmental institutions.