Being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) is a crime in 76 countries, and in 10 countries it is actually legal grounds for life imprisonment or execution. Every 16 hours a transgender person is murdered for being just that. And to this day, only 14 countries in the world recognize marriage equality. Fortunately, there are people who won’t accept this, and these people work hard towards changing the life of every LGBT person for the better – forever.
All Out is a campaigning organization that taps into the unprecedented possibilities for global people power that new social media technologies allow, by building a global community able to respond to these horrible facts, thus advancing the lives and freedoms of LGBT people - everywhere.
Through various social media channels the All Out organization has built the world’s first transnational online gay rights organization, targeting any homophobic outlet to definitively demolish the unjust hatred and crimes committed against LGBT communities and individuals all over the world.
From the halls of government to corporate boardrooms, from newsrooms to living rooms, All Out members are making their voices heard and supporting and amplifying the work of existing local and international LGBT organizations. All Out reacts quickly to developing stories in the news cycle important to LGBT people, and looks for new and creative ways to tell those stories in every language, medium and culture. The goal is to help the global LGBT movement achieve in 10 years what might take 30 or more years to accomplish, based on current global trends, and to instigate the kinds of fresh and dynamic popular discussions about diversity and LGBT equality that improve and enrich the lives of people everywhere.
In under a year, All Out has already brought over half a million people together to raise their voices in unprecedented ways - from calling out homophobia on the football fields of the World Cup and in the legislature in Uganda, to working towards trans inclusion at the headquarters of Facebook. All Out has worked to halt the deportation of a lesbian Ugandan asylum seeker in the UK, organized to defend the immigration rights of bi-national same sex couples, called global attention to homophobic and trans violence in Brazil, and helped put unprecedented pressure on the United Nations to push forward a historic resolution on LGBT equality. Furthermore, over half a million people around the world went All Out to stop the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda, dozens joined the flash mob in Germany to protest homophobia at the Women’s World Cup, and tens of thousands are pushing Facebook, the social networking giant, to recognize and respect trans identities.
With pride festivals from Sao Paolo to Shanghai attracting millions of people, and dozens of countries having lifted bans on LGBT personnel in the armed forces, fast moving and hard fought-for changes are transforming the lives of LGBT people everywhere.
Huge challenges remain, but by uniting around the world, All Out aims to push history forward faster towards a society where all the Tyler Clementis, Asher Browns and Billy Lucas of the world will live to see their bright futures.
