Equality Brief: Edition 3
Welcome back to The Equality Brief
Welcome! The Equality Brief informs you on the latest policy updates, advocacy efforts, and ways to get involved. This week, we’re covering South Carolina’s proposed total abortion ban, recapping two powerful advocacy events, and looking ahead.
Two Committee Hearings on Tuesday in Columbia
Total Abortion Ban
H 3457 is a total abortion ban that threatens reproductive rights and access to healthcare in South Carolina. A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th, at 9:00 AM in the Blatt Building, Room 110, and it’s critical that we stay informed and take action.
Our partners at WREN have compiled key details on what’s happening and how you can get involved. Read more here.
DEI Ban
The South Carolina House Education and Public Works Committee will consider H 3927 in a hearing in the afternoon on Tuesday, March 4, in the Blatt Building, Room 110. This bill would ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in state agencies, K-12 schools, and higher education institutions.
Public testimony will be allowed at the hearing, and written testimony can be submitted to laurennelsonsheorn@schouse.gov by March 2 at 12:00 PM. You can view the agenda for the hearing here.
Advocacy 101: Recap & Resources
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Advocacy 101! We had an incredible turnout and great conversations on how to be an effective advocate. If you missed it or want to revisit key points, check out these resources:
Read the summary of key takeaways
Go over the provided handouts
View the slideshow presentation
Part of the training included showing Phil Ford’s testimony at the State House during the "Don't Say Gay" bill fight. What a great example of how our personal stories are often our most powerful advocacy tool! (Trigger Warning: mention of self-harm)
Your Rights, Your Power: Watch the Recording
Our virtual event with ACLU of SC, Your Rights, Your Power, was a critical discussion on the impact of recent executive orders on LGBTQ+ rights, legal protections, and how to advocate for yourself and your community. If you couldn’t attend live, you can still access the materials:
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
View the presentation slides
Access the resources mentioned
AFFA's Spring Gala - Tickets Are Going Fast!
The 2025 AFFA Gala is just around the corner, and tickets are selling quickly! Don’t miss your chance to join us on March 15 at Festival Hall for an unforgettable night of celebration, community, and impact. With a cocktail reception, seated dinner, live and silent auctions, and dancing, it’s an event you won’t want to miss! Get your tickets now before they’re gone!
Stay Connected
Be informed – Follow AFFA and our advocacy partners for the latest updates.
Take action – Call your representatives, attend advocacy events, and amplify LGBTQ+ voices.
Support one another – Check in with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Get involved – Volunteer with AFFA, donate, and be a part of the movement.
A Final Note
Our recent events have reminded us how powerful and necessary community is. Advocacy can be exhausting, but we don’t have to do it alone. Let’s continue showing up for one another, sharing space, and lifting each other up.
Take care of yourselves—rest when you need to, set boundaries, and ask for help when you need it. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
In solidarity,
The AFFA Action Team
Equality Brief: Edition 2
It all begins with an idea.
Welcome back to The Equality Brief
Your bi-weekly update on the policies, events, and actions shaping the fight for equality in South Carolina. This newsletter keeps you informed on legislative developments, AFFA’s ongoing advocacy efforts, and ways you can get involved. With major challenges ahead, staying engaged is more important than ever - read on for the latest updates and opportunities to take action.
Legislative Update: Bill S240 – We live to fight another day!
Over 70 people (pictured above) showed up at the State House yesterday for the subcommittee hearing for S 240, the legislature's latest attempt to restrict trans rights. The subcommittee ran out of time and the bill was not introduced. Our amazing allies on the subcommittee, Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine and Sen. Russell Ott did their part by asking lots of questions on the first two bills on the agenda, effectively running out the clock during the meeting. As a result, the hearing has been delayed for at least another week, and a new hearing date has not yet been set. Stay tuned for more details when they become available!
This delay gives us more time to mobilize. Now is the time to act - tell your legislators to oppose this harmful bill.
Legal Victory: Federal Judge Blocks Ban on Transgender Youth Medical Care
In a critical win for trans rights, a federal judge has blocked the enforcement of a Trump administration executive order that sought to restrict gender-affirming medical care for trans folks under the age of 19. The order, issued on January 28, aimed to withhold federal funding from healthcare providers offering puberty blockers and hormone therapy to minors.
This ruling temporarily restores access to these essential medical treatments while legal challenges proceed. This case highlights the ongoing fight to protect healthcare access for transgender individuals, and we will continue to monitor developments. Read more from the ACLU here.
Trump Administration Erases “Transgender” from Stonewall Monument Page
The National Park Service (NPS) has removed the word “transgender” and altered the LGBTQ+ acronym on the Stonewall National Monument’s webpage, first reducing it to “LGBQ+” and later to just “LGB.” These edits erase the crucial role trans and gender-nonconforming people played in the Stonewall Uprising, a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history.
The Stonewall Inn and its nonprofit initiative condemned the changes as “a deliberate attempt to erase our history.” This follows Trump’s executive orders targeting trans visibility, which have led to similar removals from multiple federal websites. Advocates are calling for the immediate restoration of the original language. Read more at Them.
Get Involved: Become a Legal Observer
ACLU South Carolina’s Legal Observer Program is critical in ensuring the right to protest is upheld. If you want to be trained as a legal observer, you can sign up here.
If your organization is hosting an event and would like to request a legal observer’s presence, use this form.
Take Action: Upcoming Events
Advocacy 101 – February 22, 2025, 10:00 AM (Charleston, SC)
Your Rights, Your Power – Tuesday, February 25th, 2025, 6:00 PM (Virtual)
Stay Connected
Be informed – Follow AFFA and our advocacy partners for the latest updates.
Take action – Call your representatives, attend advocacy events, and amplify LGBTQ+ voices.
Support one another – Check in with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Get involved – Volunteer with AFFA, donate, and be a part of the movement.
A Final Note
Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us here at AFFA. We recognize that love - whether for our partners, friends, families, or communities - is a driving force in our work. AFFA remains committed to building a future where everyone’s love and identity are valued and protected.
In solidarity,
The AFFA Action Team
Equality Brief: Edition 1
It all begins with an idea.
Welcome to The Equality Brief!
We're excited to launch this bi-weekly newsletter to keep you informed about policy changes, AFFA and AFFA Action updates, and ways to take action. These are challenging times, but knowledge is power—and together, we’ll keep fighting for equality and justice.
A Message from Our Executive Director, Chase Glenn:
The Road Ahead: Challenges & Community Support
As expected, the Trump administration has already issued a series of harmful executive orders, including those targeting LGBTQ+ rights. We know this news is unsettling. Many in our community are feeling anxious about what comes next. We want you to know: you are not alone.
While some policies are shifting at the federal level, some protections remain in place. AFFA will continue to monitor, advocate, and provide resources to keep you informed.
What’s Changing?
Recent executive orders (EOs) and their impact:
EO1: Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Programs are being dismantled, and some benefits, including gender-affirming care, are under threat.
Agencies must take action within 60 days from publication (1/20/2025).
EO2: "Sex" and "gender" redefined:
Impacts transgender, non-binary, and intersex people.
Directs the government to stop providing federal ID documents that reflect trans people’s gender.
Endangers trans people in federal custody by denying gender-affirming care and requiring housing assignments to be based on sex assigned at birth. [Lawsuit filed.]
The current recommendation from AFFA and similar organizations is that, if possible, passport renewals or applications with changing and/or “x” gender markers should be postponed.
Effective immediately from publication (1/20/2025).
EO3: Trans military ban:
New policies could impact trans individuals ability to serve in the military. [Lawsuit filed.]
Report is due on how to implement the order within 30 days of publication (1/27/2025).
EO4: Gender-affirming care ban for trans people under the age of 19:
Could bar coverage for trans youth under federal health insurance plans (including TRICARE and federal employee health plans).
Would hold research and education grants hostage for major medical schools, research hospitals, and teaching hospitals, effectively coercing them into ceasing gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Could hold Medicaid funding from providers or hospital systems that offer this care.
Tips of hospitals across the country “pre-complying” with this order out of fear of retribution.
Report is due on implementation 60 days from publication (1/28/2025).
EO5: Education
Attempts to rescind federal funding from elementary and secondary schools that promote “gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology”.
Could impact pronoun usage, bathroom access and sports participation if implemented.
Report is due on implementation within 90 days from publication (1/29/2025).
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Memo
Impacts bathroom access for trans, nonbinary and intersex individuals at federal agencies.
Cancels training and programs that mention “gender ideology”.
Dissolves all LGBTQ+ affinity groups for federal employees.
Published 1/24/2025.
We are closely watching potential future changes, including new anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and further restrictions on gender-affirming care.
What Has NOT Changed?
Executive orders are not laws—many will be challenged in court.
LGBTQ+ people have always been here, and we will always be here.
Marriage equality and workplace protections under Supreme Court rulings still stand.
Take Action: Upcoming Events
Advocacy 101 – February 22, 2025, 10:00 AM (Charleston, SC)
Your Rights, Your Power – Tuesday, February 25th, 2025, 6:00 PM (Virtual)
What Can You Do?
Stay informed – Follow AFFA and our advocacy partners for the latest updates.
Take action – Call your representatives, attend advocacy events, and amplify LGBTQ+ voices.
Support one another – Check in with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Get involved – Volunteer with AFFA, donate, and be a part of the movement.
This is a moment to come together, support each other, and push back against harmful policies. We will continue to provide guidance, advocacy, and resources—because we’ve got this, and we’ve got us.
Stay tuned for the next edition of The Equality Brief! Until then, follow us on social media or visit our website for real-time updates.
In solidarity,
The AFFA Action Team