Affecting Policy Starts with You!
Know Who Represents You
Find Your Legislator is an easy tool that tells you which Connecticut lawmakers are assigned to represent you based on your address. Find out your State Representative, State Senator, US Senators, and US Congressperson including which bills they are currently working on and how to contact their offices.
Get Out and Vote
Even though 2025 is not a major election year, you have the most voice in your local elections. Your local officials decide issues from book bans to low-income housing development and you deserve to have a say in how those impact you and your community.
Check to See if You're Registered so you're not surprised come voting season. You may be marked as "inactive" if you have not voted in the last two federal elections, meaning you may have to take some extra steps to update your registration before voting. Remember that Connecticut has closed primaries, so if you intend to vote in a primary election, you need to be registered with the political party associated with that primary.
Register to Vote if you are not registered and have never voted before in a US election.
Learn what's on your ballot. Often, key issues that directly affect your local and state laws are voted on during regular elections. Take time to get informed on these initiatives and how they impact your community.
Know your Rights as a Trans Voter. This resource shares important information on state processes and rights that impact folks who may be in various stages of name and gender document changes.
Stay Informed on Current Issues
See ACLU's legislative tracker to learn about new legislation and how it impacts you on a state and federal level.
Run for Local Office
n 2022, around 34% of local elections and 33% of state legislature elections were uncontested according to CivicPulse. If you are LGBTQ+ and you want to run for local office, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund has resources for LGBTQ+ people who want to run for office. There are local and national resources and supports for training, mentorship, and more for those who are looking to run for office. Why shouldn't it be you?
Follow These Organizations
Equality Connecticut
Queer Power. Queer Joy. Queer Futures.
Rooted in the struggle for equality, justice, and liberation, we recognize that LGBTQIA+ folks experience many forms of oppression. In solidarity, we, therefore, work across all platforms of social justice movements. We see anti-racism, gender equity, economic justice, reproductive freedom, health, housing, food security, and education access as queer issues. We will work in solidarity to achieve political and social change whenever possible.
- Advocacy and mobilization for laws, policies, and public funding sources that protect the rights and health of LGBTQIA communities.
- Leadership development that encourages LGBTQIA people to seek public office and creates a pipeline for emerging LGBTQIA leaders.
- Public education about the rights and needs of LGBTQIA people in CT.
- Programmatic activities that bring people together and celebrate LGBTQIA communities and culture in CT.
- Resource tracking and research to achieve demonstrable growth in philanthropic support for CT’s LGBTQIA Community.
- Coalition work that supports the collection of organizations currently serving CT’s LGBTQIA+ communities and expands the available resources for statewide programming.
Actionlink
Support - Strengthen - Connect
Effective advocacy enables individuals and organizations to shape public debate on important issues. It also ensures that we have a voice in the policies that impact our daily lives. In 2017, LGBTQ community centers and other nonprofits across the nation came together with CenterLink to form ActionLink.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Connecticut
Fighting for LGBTQ+ Rights in Court and Legislation
Although the ACLU is most often associated with litigation, we also work outside the courtroom to ensure that decision-makers always keep the Constitution in mind when drafting laws. The ACLU of Connecticut is a trusted voice, and policymakers in Connecticut know that we are committed to principles, not agendas. By lifting up the voices of everyday Connecticut residents and engaging in strategic advocacy efforts at the local, state, and national levels, we provide the tools our supporters need to call on lawmakers to protect the civil liberties of all Americans.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people have been a touchstone of the ACLU of Connecticut's legal and legislative work. In 2008, we joined the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders to win the fight to legalize same-sex marriage in our state. In 2011, we helped win passage of a gender identity law that makes it illegal to discriminate against transgender people in employment, housing, public education, accommodations and commercial transactions. In 2016, we successfully pushed for a law to prevent discrimination in our state military departments, such as the National Guard, against people on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, or gender. And in 2017, we helped to pass a law to protect LGBTQ youth from harmful conversion "therapy."
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law)
Since 1978, GLAD Law’s bold litigation has achieved scores of precedent-setting victories on behalf of LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV.
GLAD Law has been instrumental in the LGBTQ+ rights movement through advocacy work and bold litigation. We help to create not only safer physical life and work spaces for the LGBTQ+ community and people with HIV, but protect the right to form families, fight for affirmation and dignity in state and federal laws, and take down economic and life opportunity barriers.
GLAD's website has information on obtaining legal help, collaborating with advocacy organizations, knowing your rights, registering to vote, legal documents, news, and more.