I actually arrived a bit late to the opening plenary so I only heard the last bit of Patricia Todd’s speech. Bob Palmatier spoke briefly about the state of things in Alabama and Equality Alabama’s drive to include gender identity in hate crimes protections. “It’s hard to get people in Alabama to understand that gender identity is not the same as sexual orientation,” Palmatier said.
Palmatier spoke about his meeting with Representative Alvin Holmes where he repeated Equality Alabama’s dedication to the inclusion of gender identity.

Awards: Joe Cottle for his work on the anti-bullying bill.