Language, action steps, and how to mobilize support

What’s happening now in communities across the country isn’t new and it’s not only targeting LGBTQ+ people. It is part of a national effort to sow fears and divide our families and neighbors. It’s intentional. It’s organized, funded and coordinated. But it’s also not the story of our values in our families, towns, or our nation.

• • Four of 5 Americans support rights for LGBTQ+ people.
  • Nearly all Fortune 500 companies (96%) have implemented non-discrimination policies that are inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.
  • Nearly two-thirds of Americans strongly feel that transgender people should be protected from discrimination, (and a further 25% of people don’t oppose it).

Whether we are Black, brown or white, Native or newcomer, transgender or not, we all want the freedom to be ourselves. Some people are trying to get and hold onto power by dividing our communities, but PFLAG is where LGBTQ+ people, their families and allies come together. We can make this a place that includes all of us – a place where we are all free to thrive and support each other for who we are.

• • If reading and drag performances and Prides are happening with love and affirmation, but the mayor just banned distribution of contraception at the emergency shelter, this is an LGBTQ+ issue. You need to get organized, get active and vote.
  • If the county commissioner just threw out the plans to host diversity and inclusion training and moved that money to fund arming the sheriff’s department, this is an LGBTQ+ issue. You need to get organized, get active and vote.
  • If a teacher protests to say the Pride flag or a Black Lives Matter banner makes them feel unsafe and they want the school district to remove them, this is an LGBTQ+ issue. You need to get organized, get active and vote.

PFLAG’s Core Messages

Leading with Love: Loving our LGBTQ+ kids and family members is what brings people to PFLAG. As a parent, you would do anything for your child. As a PFLAGer, you lead with that love, opening your heart to learning more to be a great advocate for the LGBTQ+ loved ones in your life and in your community.

PFLAG is a safe and welcoming community: PFLAG is where LGBTQ+ people, their families and allies come together. You can find PFLAGers in small towns, rural communities, and urban centers across the country. We meet people where they are in their journey to affirming their LGBTQ+ loved ones, and will help you through the questions that come up along the way. While every person’s journey is unique, the support, affirmation, and community you find in PFLAG is there for you no matter where you are.

Youth have always led the way: From Ruby Bridges, to John Lewis, to Gavin Grimm – and transgender and LGBTQ+ youth today – the burden of civil rights has been borne by youth. This is because, for better or worse, young people have very few rights, including the right to vote, until they are 18. PFLAGers trust and empower young LGBTQ+ people to help identify what is needed to achieve equality. In allyship, PFLAGers rise up with youth to secure their safety, respect, and rights.

Equality starts with me: In 2022, there are only 2 rights that an LGBTQ+ person can depend on anywhere in the country: marriage and the right to get and keep a job. (Even going to the bathroom isn’t a right our loved ones can depend on in some parts of the country.) There is still so much work to do. As a community of LGBTQ+ people, families and allies who are part of PFLAG, we work to make a difference.

What You Can Do:

Before she founded PFLAG in 1973, Jeanne Manford got mad, got organized, and went public in defense of people who are LGBTQ+. You can, too!

• Write, Call-In, Book Interviews in Local Media. Raise up allyship in support of LGBTQ+ equality in your local news.
• Educate. Plan educational events, from a Pride booth to a panel, workshop, or forum to reach folks beyond your chapter.
• Organize for Pride and beyond. Jeanne marched when no others would, calling for parents to organize in support for their LGBTQ+ children. Register for a virtual “Troublemaker Training,” a workshop to help you learn the steps to bringing folks in your community together offered by PFLAG’s partners at Red Wine and Blue.
• Vote. Get registered, pay attention to your ballot, vote and elect people who care about your families in the first place.