JACKSON, Miss. – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is taking their fight for equal rights for LGBT people exclusively to Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. They announced their $8.5 million campaign, called Project One America at the Mississippi State Capitol Tuesday. It is the largest coordinated campaign for LGBT equality ever in the south.
You can hear the full press conference here:
The HRC’s goal is to change the hearts and minds of people in Mississippi. They also want to advance legal non-discriminatory protection for LGBT people at the state and local level.
Recent surveys conducted by the HRC with that have shown Mississippi has the highest rate of gay and lesbian couples raisin children than any other state in the nation, even more than California. Also the survey found that one out of four LGBT people in Mississippi report experiencing discrimination in employment or public accommodations, 65 percent report suffering from verbal abuse, and 15 percent report suffering from violent abuse because of their identity.