Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Open to All Announces New Partnership with Elected Officials


The Open to All coalition continues to grow!

Today, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Open to All announced the expansion of the nationwide Open to All effort with the new Local Electeds Against Discrimination (LEAD) Taskforce with the support of businesses across New York City.

Fifteen lawmakers from around the country, including Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland and Mayor Catherine Pugh of Baltimore, have joined Comptroller Stringer in supporting Open to All. This taskforce builds on their early leadership with the goal of reaching elected officials in all fifty states.

Comptroller Stringer’s taskforce, Local Electeds Against Discrimination (LEAD) is a national network of elected leaders who support Open to All and are also taking a stand for nondiscrimination protections in their cities and states. The LEAD taskforce brings together local elected officials from across the country to share model nondiscrimination policies, strategies for encouraging businesses to pledge to be Open to All, and ideas for bringing together local communities to oppose discrimination.

By signing the Open to All Elected Officials Pledge and joining the LEAD Taskforce, lawmakers agree to: 


• Take a stand for nondiscrimination in their city or state and work to create a welcoming and safe environment for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion or disability.


• Oppose discrimination against individuals or denial of goods or services based on any of these characteristics, and to work to ensure businesses provide all goods and services to everyone on the same terms.

Once they sign the pledge, Open to All is asking elected officials to take action by engaging businesses in their communities and inviting them to sign the Open to All business pledge. They are also encouraged to come together with their fellow elected officials from across the country to share ideas, best practices, and strategies for creating and implementing model nondiscrimination policies and practices in local communities as a member of the LEAD taskforce.

The announcement that New York City is Open to All is also supported by Gap Inc., which recently signed on to the Open to All business pledge at over 2,300 Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix stores across the country, spanning all 50 states, including 190 stores in the state of New York. Last month, Gap Inc. joined Yelp, Marriott International Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, as well as more than 1,500 small businesses and 200 nonprofits, in partnering with Open to All. 


Take Action:
• SHARE the news on social media with the hashtag #OpenToAll
• VISIT the LEAD Taskforce for more ways to take action
• DONATE $50 to help Open to All reach ten more elected officials