 | |
| Founded | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Location | |
Area served | South Carolina |
Key people | Jeff Ayers, Executive Director |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | South Carolina Equality Coalition (SCEC) |
SC Equality is a nonprofit organization advocating for LGBTQ rights in South Carolina. [1]
SC Equality was incorporated in 2002 in Columbia, South Carolina, by Nekki Shutt as South Carolina Equality Coalition (SCEC). [2] By 2003, the group was made up of 19 organizations, including the Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA). Its goal was to improve the conditions of gay and lesbian people in South Carolina through promoting tolerance, politically organizing gay people and allies and changing discriminatory laws. [3]
SCEC was the recipient of a 2003 Equality Fund grant from the Human Rights Campaign to support its political lobbying efforts. [4] SCEC led a major campaign against South Carolina Amendment 1, which was a ballot measure part of the 2006 election. The amendment stated that a marriage between one man and one woman would be the only valid domestic union recognized in the state. In 2005, then-chair of SCEC Linda Ketner organized public testimony against the amendment at legislative subcommittee hearings. [5] The amendment passed the South Carolina Senate with a vote of 36–1, with Senator Robert Ford of Charleston the sole dissenting vote. [6] SCEC and its constituent members, including AFFA and South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement, continued to campaign against the amendment through to the election, including canvassing at the South Carolina State Fair, hosting "Fairness for All Families" fundraising house parties, and a statewide bus tour. [7] [8] Groups lobbying in favor of the amendment included the Palmetto Family Council, led by Henry McMaster and Oran Smith. [9] The amendment ultimately passed with 78% of the vote. [10]
SCEC later rebranded as SC Equality and continued its advocacy work at the state level. [1] On June 26, 2013, SC Equality organized a march in Columbia in anticipation of the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor . [11]
The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization affiliated with the Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT+ Americans, by educating the LGBT+ community and Republicans about each other.
Nancy Ruth Mace is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. Her district includes much of the state's share of the East Coast, from Charleston to Hilton Head Island.
Henry Dargan McMaster is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 50th Attorney General of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011 and the 91st lieutenant governor of South Carolina from 2015 to 2017 under Governor Nikki Haley.
Ed Madden is an American poet, activist, and Director of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina in the USA. He grew up in Newport, Arkansas, got his B.A. from nearby Harding University, and received his Ph.D. in literature from the University of Texas, Austin.
Robert Ford is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate from 1993 to 2013, representing District 42, which is located in Charleston. From 1974 to 1992, he served as a member of the Charleston City Council.
The 2010 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim DeMint won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Alvin Greene. However, DeMint did not serve out the full term to which he was elected; he resigned in 2013 to become president of The Heritage Foundation.
Christine A. Johnson is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Utah House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010.
Equality NC(ENC) is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights advocacy group and political lobbying organization in North Carolina and is the oldest statewide LGBTQ equality organization in the United States.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Carolina since a federal court order took effect on November 20, 2014. Another court ruling on November 18 had ordered the state to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Following the 2014 ruling of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bostic v. Schaefer, which found Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and set precedent on every state in the circuit, one judge accepted marriage license applications from same-sex couples until the South Carolina Supreme Court, in response to a request by the Attorney General, ordered him to stop. A federal district court ruled South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on November 12, with implementation of that decision stayed until noon on November 20. The first same-sex wedding ceremony was held on November 19.
Nicholas Shalosky is a native South Carolina attorney and politician. While still in college, he won a seat as a write-in candidate for the Charleston County Constituent District No. 20 School Board using only campaigning on the Internet through Facebook; he did not spend any funds. He won with 22 votes. He represented the 20th District, downtown Charleston, for a four-year term, which ended in 2012.
Fair Wisconsin, previously called Equality Wisconsin is a 501c4 nonprofit civil rights political advocacy organization dedicated to securing equal rights under the law for Wisconsin's LGBTQ+, transgender and non-binary community. The organization focuses on expanding rights for LGBTQ+ and transgender Wisconsinites, most notably working to enshrine same sex marriage protections, HIV/Aids Advocacy and adding gender identity to the states non-discrimination laws. The organization was founded in 1994 as LGBT Center Advocates, consolidating elements of the Domestic Partnership Task Force, the Human Rights League, and the LGBT Alliance for Equality. The organization claims several accomplishments in areas of domestic partner recognition, non-discrimination, and securing greater resources for LGBTQ+ social services.
Benjamin Frasier Jr. is a perennial candidate for political office in South Carolina, having run for Congress over fifteen times since 1972. He became the Democratic Party nominee for the November 2010 election, "surpris[ing] observers" by beating retired Air Force Reserve Colonel Robert Burton in South Carolina's 1st congressional district Democratic Party primary, with 56 percent of the vote to Burton's 44 percent.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of South Carolina may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in South Carolina as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy laws. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples. However, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is not banned statewide.
The Fairness Campaign is a Louisville, Kentucky-based lobbying and advocacy organization, focusing primarily on preventing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Fairness Campaign is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(4) organization. The organization is a member of the Equality Federation.
Dwight A. Loftis is an American politician and insurance agent from South Carolina. A member of the South Carolina Senate since 2019, he previously represented district 19 in the South Carolina House of Representatives for 23 years from 1996 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican party.
The 2018 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of South Carolina. Incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster, who took office after Nikki Haley resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, ran for election to a full term. The primary was held on June 12, with the Democrats nominating State Representative James E. Smith Jr. McMaster failed to win a majority of the vote, and then defeated John Warren in the Republican runoff on June 26. In the general election, McMaster defeated Smith, winning election to a full term.
Margie Bright Matthews is a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District since 2015, when she won a special election to succeed Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in the Charleston church shooting in 2015. She is an attorney who founded a law firm.
The Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) is a nonprofit social justice organization dedicated to advocacy and education for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Charleston, South Carolina, area.
Linda Ketner is a philanthropist and co-founder of the Charleston, South Carolina-based LGBTQ advocacy group Alliance for Full Acceptance. In 2008, she became the first openly gay candidate for the House of Representatives in South Carolina history when she ran as a Democrat in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District.
Matt W. Leber is an American politician and Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 116. He is the Republican nominee for South Carolina State Senate District 41.