Equality CT already had its first community event within the first few months of its opening, hosting a post-Pride Parade brunch in July 2022. According to the organization, they “gathered and fed over 50 members of the community, providing a dedicated space for LGBTQIA+ people to meet each other and connect.”
According to Stefan Keller, a member of Equality CT’s advisory board, “There was no specific organization that was regularly advocating around specifically queer people. So, we saw a space to work together with different groups that exist to hear issues from the community, and then bring those to the legislature and say these are the changes that need to happen, and we can be an organization that is championing some of those causes.”
Connecticut is one of a shrinking number of states without a statewide organization advocating for LGBTQIA+ residents. Equality CT hopes that by encouraging LGBTQIA+ residents to be active members of the state government, lasting change will come as a result. Equality CT’s specific goals extend over a diverse range of issues, ranging from healthcare-specific goals like creating universal access to gender-affirming healthcare and ensuring coverage of LGBTQIA+ fertility care, to education-specific goals like educating a young generation of LGBTQIA+ activists and leaders. Additionally, they hope to work with Connecticut’s suicide prevention programs to form LGBTQIA+-inclusive programs. Choate students can contribute to Equality CT’s mission. “If students have ideas around things that we should be working on, they can definitely reach out to us … having as many voices as possible is really how we do this work the best way,” said Mr. Keller.
The efforts of organizations like Equality CT are especially pertinent as numerous pieces of legislation have been passed in recent years to support the LGBTQIA+ community. In 2019, the Gay and Transgender “panic” defense was banned. In prior years, lawyers across the nation could defend a perpetrator’s actions by referencing their sexual orientation or gender identity, leading to commuted punishments. The efforts of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont have been particularly pertinent on the matter, as he signed several new pieces of legislation repealing historic laws that discriminate against LGBTQIA+ youth.
For instance, his recent signature of the Connecticut Parentage Act mandates that all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth or the marital status, gender, or sexual orientation of their parents, have equal access to parentage. He also signed legislation allowing sexually-active minors the right to HIV-preventative medicine without a parent’s consent, allowing them to prioritize their health without coming out to their parents, potentially saving them from unsafe situations.
In addition to these two legislative actions, in 2019, the Connecticut government allocated a quarter million dollars for the following two years to fund the LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network.
While strides towards equity have been made in recent years under Governor Lamont, the formation and actions of Equality CT will better reflect the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community and lead to even greater advancements.
