Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States.[2] Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGBTQ individuals, including advocating for same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. The organization has a number of legislative initiatives as well as supporting resources for LGBTQ individuals.
Not to be confused with Human Rights Watch.Programs and positions[edit]
According to the organization, the Human Rights Campaign "is organized for the charitable and educational purposes of promoting public education and welfare for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community."[39]
The HRC Foundation provides resources on coming out,[40] transgender issues,[41] LGBT-related healthcare topics, and information about workplace issues faced by LGBT people, including the Corporate Equality Index.[42]
HRC lobbies for the passage of anti-discrimination and hate crime laws.[43][44] The organization supported the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal hate-crime law to allow the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.[45]
The organization's work on health issues traditionally focused on responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In recent years, HRC has addressed discrimination in health care settings for LGBT employees, patients and their families. Since 2007, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation has published the "Healthcare Equality Index", which rates hospitals on issues such as patient and employee non-discrimination policies, employee cultural competency training, and hospital visitation rights for LGBT patients' families.[46]
Lobbyists from the Human Rights Campaign worked with the Obama administration to extend hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners.[47] HRC lobbied extensively for the repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) law, which barred gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States military.[48]
The HRC filed a lawsuit in both state and federal courts contesting the "transgender sports ban" law in Florida in 2021, in an attempt to block the law from going into effect (called "nullification") on midnight July 1.[49]
The Human Rights Campaign gives out a number of awards.