The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, on Thursday announced that
Chad Griffin was stepping down as its president.
“I am so grateful to have had the
opportunity to be a part of this incredible organization at such an
important moment in the history of our movement – and our nation,”
Griffin, who lead HRC for six years, said in a statement. “The true
strength of the Human Rights Campaign is in its fearless army of
staff and volunteers, who are committed to ensuring full equality
reaches every LGBTQ person across America, and around the world. For
decades, this organization has shown the world that love conquers
hate. But this year, in this election, with the future of our
democracy on the ballot and the equality of future generations on the
line, we proved that votes conquer hate, too.”
HRC said that it spent $26 million in a
campaign to turn out LGBT voters on November 6. HRC's #TurnOut
campaign was focused on voters in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
This year's midterm election returned
control of the House to Democrats and dramatically increased the
number of openly LGBT elected officials at every level of government.
Colorado elected Jared Polis, making him the first openly gay person
elected governor, four non-incumbent LGBT candidates won their House
races, and Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, became the first
openly bisexual person elected to the Senate, increasing the number
of LGBT people in the Senate to two.
Griffin previously led the American
Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group formed specifically to
challenge the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California's
voter-approved constitutional amendment which defined marriage as a
heterosexual union, putting an end to such unions in California. The
lawsuit resulted in the restoration of marriage equality in
California.
HRC, which was formed in 1980. has
annual revenues of roughly $40 million. Griffin was the group's
seventh president.