RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

www.amnestyusa.org/group/outfront

Amnesty International USAÌs OUTfront Program, a membership network for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) human rights, works toÛ

Ô Promote human rights standards at the international and local level that protect the basic human rights of LGBT people;

Ô Combat specific human rights violations against LGBT people around the world;

Ô Supporting Amnesty InternationalÌs research department in increasing the documentation of violations against LGBT people;

Ô Raising public awareness of human rights abuses based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity;

Ô Mobilizing people in the USA, and around the world, to take action to protect the human rights of LGBT people.

www.COLAGE.org

As their website says, ÏCOLAGE is the best (well okay, the only) support and advocacy organization for daughters and sons of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents.Ó The group fosters the growth of daughters and sons of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents of all racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds by providing education, support, and community on local and international levels. They also promote acceptance and awareness in society that love makes a family and advocate for the rights of children of LGBT parents and their families. COLAGE has about 1,500 members, mostly children with gay parents, though some are parents or prospective parents, as well as other organizations and allies. Most members are between 12-18.

GLSEN Ò Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

www.glsen.org

GLSEN works to assure that each member of every K-12 school community is valued and respected, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Founded as a volunteer group in Boston in 1990, GLSEN led the fight that made Massachusetts one of the first states to ban anti-gay discrimination in its public schools in 1993. GLSEN went national in 1994 and has since become one of the nationÌs leading voices for equality and safety in the educational system. GLSEN is a network of 85 chapters whose members educate local, state, and national school officials about the need to pass non-discrimination policies in schools, train teachers to prevent anti-gay name calling, and serve as a community resource for teachers, parents, and students grappling with LGBT issues. The organization also sponsors a Student Pride Project, provides resources and technical support to over 400 high school-based Gay-Straight Alliances, creates and distributes teacher training materials and LGBT-inclusive curricular resources to elementary and secondary schools across the country.

www.iglhrc.org

IGLHRCÌs mission is to protect and advance the human rights of all people and communities subject to discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status. A US-based non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), IGLHRC responds to such human rights violations around the world through documentation, advocacy, coalition building, public education, and technical assistance. The organizationÌs overarching commitment is to defend the rights of people worldwide to define their own sexuality and gender identities and to support the efforts of individuals and groups to organize to create societies free from heterosexism and homophobia.

www.ilga.org

The International Lesbian and Gay Association is a world-wide federation of national and local groups dedicated to achieving equal rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people. Founded in 1978, it is an umbrella group of more than 350 member organizations in 80 countries. ILGA focuses public and government attention on cases of discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people by supporting programs and protest actions, asserting diplomatic pressure, providing information, and working with international organizations and media. ILGA has sponsored international campaigns to decriminalize homo sexuality in New Zealand, Russia, Ireland and other countries. ILGA helped create and support many countriesÌ first autonomous lesbian and gay groups in Latin America and Asia. They contributed to the growth of a democratic, multiracial lesbian and gay movement in South Africa and played a crucial role in the development of the first gay and lesbian organizations in Eastern Europe. Their website contains information about world events and urgent actions.

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund

www.lambdalegal.org

Lambda is the oldest and largest legal organization in the United States working for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV/AIDS. Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV/AIDS through litigation, education, and public policy work. Lambda carries out its legal work principally through test cases selected for the likelihood of their success in establishing positive legal precedents that will affect lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV/AIDS on issues such as discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and the military; HIV/AIDS-related discrimination and public policy issues; parenting and relationship issues; equal marriage rights; equal employment and domestic partnership benefits; ÏsodomyÓ law challenges; immigration issues; anti-gay initiatives; and free speech and equal protection rights.

Massachusetts Department of Education Gay-Straight Alliances

www.doe.mass.edu/doedocs/GSA

Massachusetts was the first state to pass legislation protecting the rights of gay and lesbian students. This site provides advice to students and staff for creating a gay-straight alliance at school, including ideas on how to hold meetings and activities to address homophobia. Much of this site came from ideas, suggestions, and experiences of students and staff in Massachusetts.

PFLAG Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays

www.pflag.org

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is a national organization that promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons, their families and friends through support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.

P.E.R.S.O.N. Project

www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject

The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project is an informal, national network of organizations and individuals working to ensure that fair, accurate, and unbiased information regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and about the nature and diversity of sexual orientation is presented to young people as part of public school education. Advocates for The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project provide testimony before state and local boards of education, meet with educational policy makers at all levels of government, inform the public about educational equity issues, and furnish various resources for addressing these subjects in the classroom. They work for an end to the censorship of information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities in textbooks, course content, resource materials, and library offerings associated with public education.

www.project10.org

Project 10 is the nationÌs first public school program providing on-site support to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. It began in l984 at Fairfax High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Their website was developed in order to give teachers, counselors, and administrators assistance in providing similar services in their own schools or school districts. Project 10 also sponsors the annual Models of Pride Conference, the Models of Excellence Scholarship Program, the Gay and Lesbian Youth Prom, Youth Lobby Day, and Administrative Training Seminars.

http://members.xoom.com/gsa