Welcome to

Rainbow Parents of Nebraska!

Welcome to the inaugural newsletter of Rainbow Parents of Nebraska, a parent-formed organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ youth and lobbies for inclusive legislation in our state.

You are receiving this email because you gave us your information through our QR code or by going to our website.

Thanks for wanting to be more involved to protect the queer kid(s) in your life.

Each week, we plan to provide some concrete action steps that you can take to get more involved in the political process in our state.

We know that engaging with our elected officials can feel intimidating and we aim to demystify the process so that the stories of our families can be heard by decision makers.

There are enough of us out there to make our senators take notice if we use our voices to influence them to do the right things.

Get started with our weekly action items!

Whether you have already been very active, or you are just now realizing that you need to get more involved to protect the queer kid(s) in your life, we want to make things as simple as possible.

This is your homework to do in the next week.

Register to vote (or confirm your registration)

If you need to register to vote for the first time, or to make changes to a previous registration (change name, address, or party affiliation), you can use the Secretary of State’s online portal. There is a list of other places to register in every county here. If you scroll down to find your county, you can find specific instructions where to register to vote in person (places like the DMV or libraries).

If you think you are registered, please confirm here. This will also list your polling place and all the different races and your districts.

Make sure everyone in your household who will be 18 by November 5th of 2024 is also registered. While you are at it, check the status of your extended family and friends and follow up with those who are not registered!

Stay tuned for more action steps from Rainbow Parents of Nebraska next week.

If you have questions or suggestions for us, please contact us at the links below!

Come meet us at Heartland Pride!

Rainbow Parents of Nebraska will have a table at the Heartland Pride Festival in Omaha on July 12th and 13th at the CHI Center!

Youth Pride is Friday evening July 12th and is free for all!

The parade is at 10am on Saturday the 13th in the Capitol District followed by the festival starting at 12:30pm.  Festival admission for Saturday is $25.

For more information on Heartland Pride, please visit their webiste:

https://heartlandpride.org/

Please come and introduce yourself to us and let us know you are one of our subscribers!

Why Pride is Important

“We have come a long way from Pride happening in the 80’s to now. People are able to march with Pride and without bags over their heads. Although the same fears that had people march with bags over their heads back in the 80’s still exist today.

There are no protections in Nebraska to prevent unethical businesses from firing people for being LGBTQIA+ or to not hire them in the first place. There have been more bills proposed to violate our rights in the past two years than there has been historically. If you are LGBTQIA+ or more specifically transgender, our rights are being attacked at some of the highest levels across the nation.

And Nebraska is no exception. We NEED people to get out and vote for candidates who support our rights under the constitution! We need to write or show up at the legislature when bills are being proposed to prohibit our rights to access healthcare or the rights of parents to make choices about their own children that is in the best interest of their well being.

I for one will not stop advocating for us!”

~Eli Rigatuso, founder of www.speakingofhappy.com/about