Through our Legal Equality Program, the Campaign for Southern Equality works across the South to strike down anti-LGBTQ laws, promote pro-LGBTQ policies, and promote policies that support racial equity, economic justice and immigration reform. In our current political climate, we’re part of rapid response organizing coalitions working on issues of LGBTQ rights, racial equity, immigration reform and health care access for all.
We’re working to build political power over the long term. We use tactics including litigation, organizing, voter registration and turnout, and storytelling. The program includes five main areas:
➡️ Litigation
➡️ Legislative Organizing
➡️ Supportive Schools
➡️ Voter Registration
➡️ Winning the Freedom to Marry in the South
Litigation
The Campaign for Southern Equality has worked on federal lawsuits that successfully struck down marriage equality bans in North Carolina and Mississippi and the same-sex adoption ban in Mississippi. We have also been involved in challenges to HB1523 in Mississippi and SB2 in North Carolina; both anti-LGBTQ+ laws are currently in effect.
Our federal court cases include:
- Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant I (Marriage Equality in MS)
- Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant II (Adoption in MS)
- Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant III (HB 1523 in MS)
- General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Reisinger (Marriage Equality in NC)
- Ansley v. Warren (SB2 in NC)
Legislative Organizing and Coalition Building
The Campaign for Southern Equality drives action and engagement around legislation at the state and federal level relating to LGBTQ+ equality, racial justice, voting rights, and more through coalition work with local and national partners. In North and South Carolina, we work with:
- NC is Ready, a project led by Equality North Carolina and the Campaign for Southern Equality, dedicated to securing equal rights and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) North Carolinians.
- South Carolina United for Justice & Equality, a coalition of South Carolina organizations advocating for the passage of legislation to protect LGBTQ+ community members and opposes anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. The coalition also works on intersecting issues of social justice, including racial justice, reproductive justice, voting rights, and health care access.
Supportive Schools Program
Every school, every home, and every community should give every child the message that they are safe, respected and loved for exactly who they are. The Supportive Schools Program provides training, policy guidance, and assessment services to assist schools in becoming more inclusive and welcoming for students of every sexual and gender identity. Through the program, CSE advises and advocates on LGBTQ+ youth-related issues and policies, and supports the formation and networking of school GSA’s and other youth organizations.
Voter Registration
We’re registering voters all year long, building political voice and power for LGBTQ+ Southerners.
Winning the Freedom to Marry in the South
From 2011 to 2015, CSE was on the frontlines of efforts to win marriage equality in the South using an innovative blend of direct action, public education and litigation. We led the WE DO Campaign, which involved LGBTQ+ couples requesting – and being denied – marriage licenses in their hometowns, from Wilson, NC, to Morristown, TN, to Poplarville, MS. We were honored to be part of the lawsuits that struck down marriage bans in North Carolina and Mississippi, as well as the lawsuit striking down an adoption ban in Mississippi.
