Atticus Circle is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to educate and mobilize fair-minded straight people to advance equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 partners, parents and their children.

With the national office located in Austin, Texas, Atticus Circle is also a unique organization in its especial focus on straight allies

Straight ally

Straight ally is a colloquial term that describes a heterosexual person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality, LGBTQ social movements, and challenges homophobia. A straight ally believes that LGBT people suffer discrimination and thus are socially disadvantaged...

 of the movement

LGBT social movements

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...

. The organization is founded and run by mostly straight people, and works to empower straight and other allies to give them a sense of ownership in this civil rights struggle rooted in love.

History

Atticus Circle, named for Atticus Finch

Atticus Finch

Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Atticus is a central character in the novel...

 from To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...

, was found in late 2004 by Anne Wynne after 11 states passed anti-gay "Discrimination Amendments". Wynne is straight and noticed the lack of organizations catering to straight allies. Since its inception, Atticus Circle has participated in campaigns in Texas around GLBT domestic partnership benefits and "Discrimination Amendments". They have advocated against "Don't Ask Don't Tell

Don't ask, don't tell

"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...

" policies and for fair family policies. Wynne notes that most gay rights activism is done by gay people, although she finds it a natural issue for straight progressives to support: she says "we haven't gotten on their radar yet."

In October 2007, the organization ran a national "Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights" event, where the straight community could show support for LGBT rights. It was one of the first such events in Austin and in the United States. The event was held again in 2008.

Mission statement

Atticus Circle's official mission statement describes the organization and its aims thus:

Atticus Circle educates and mobilizes fair-minded straight people to advance equal rights for LGBT partners, parents, and their children. To accomplish our goal, Atticus Circle will focus its efforts on education, policy development, and legal advocacy.

Projects

January-May, 2007: Atticus Circle formed the "Equality Circle," a group of straight volunteers in Austin, Texas who paired with LGBT people to advocate for equal rights during the 2007 Texas Legislative Session.

October 7-13, 2007: Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights, in partnership with Soulforce

Soulforce

Soulforce may refer to:* Soulforce is an American LGBT-issue-focused social justice and civil rights organization.* Soulforce Revolution is the 1989 release of the punk band 7 Seconds....

 will be held October 7-13, 2007 in many cities throughout the United States, including Montgomery, AL

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

, Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and Humboldt County

Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

, CA, Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Shreveport, LA

Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

, Augusta, ME

Augusta, Maine

Augusta is the capital of the US state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population was 19,136 at the 2010 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota...

, New York City, Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, Salem, OR

Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

, Harrisburg, PA

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

, Austin, TX

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, Houston, TX

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 and Seattle, WA

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

. Straight individuals, couples and families will be holding overnight vigils all over the country stating their support for LGBT equal rights.