Lambda Legal’s new LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights goes on offense by using tactics perfected by the right

For years, LGBTQ+ advocates have been asked to defend what their movement already won. Lambda Legal now wants to ask a different question: What should equality look like next? The civil rights organization is rolling out a new LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights this October, pairing its courtroom challenges to President Donald Trump’s administration with an expanded campaign to secure state-level protections.In an exclusive interview with The Advocate, CEO Kevin Jennings and Cathryn Oakley, Lambda Legal’s deputy legal director of policy, described a strategy shaped by the increasingly difficult path through federal courts and the opportunities that remain beyond them.“People know us for our litigation, and of course we’re going to continue to do litigation, but we are tired of playing defense, and we are going to be going on offense,” Jennings said.The campaign, timed to LGBTQ+ History Month, is part of the organization’s five-year strategic plan, “Rising Together.” October will bring educational materials, videos, personal stories, and legal resources.The framework identifies five priorities, including health, education, opportunity, family, and democracy. Together, they envision affordable, culturally competent healthcare for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV; schools that help every student flourish; access to economic and social opportunity; belonging for LGBTQ+ families; and a government that represents them.Related: The closet was once the law. Without an LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights, it could be againTaking the fight to the statesJennings said Lambda Legal would start with 20 states whose leaders support LGBTQ+ equality, developing model laws and policies that could spread elsewhere. The marriage equality movement, he noted, built momentum state by state.“We have done this before. We can do it again,” he said.The strategy also borrows from opponents who have circulated similar restrictions across state legislatures.“Well, you know what? Two can pla