The Human Rights Campaign on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S., saying more needs to be done to protect the community's rights.
The group released a guidebook that explains potentially discriminatory laws in each state, and shared resources to help people move to areas that are more LGBTQ+ friendly.
The emergency measure is an unprecedented escalation past the travel advisories the group has issued before, such as one regarding Florida's discriminatory laws in May.
The organization says its declaration is a response to a nationwide increase in discriminatory legislation in state governments. More than 70 such bills have become law this year, in a marked increase over 2022's count.
The HRC calls for lawmakers and business leaders to fight for legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community the same way they have for abortion rights following the overturning of the protections from Roe. v Wade in June of 2022.
"When Dobbs fell, you saw a federal response to deal with the abortion crisis that we’re in," said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in an interview with the Associated Press. "We are in a crisis of even greater scale to the health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community, and we need that same sort of response."
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups want businesses to continue support
LGBTQ+ groups say it is important that businesses don't cave to pressure as some reconsider their support for Pride Month.
