The Human Rights Campaign has cut financial ties with defense contractors Northrop Grumman and RTX, formerly Raytheon, following a two-year campaign led by queer and trans activists. According to a joint statement from the Gender Liberation Movement and Adalah Justice Project, groups like ACT UP New York, Writers Against the War on Gaza, and former HRC employees organized the effort. It said, “These are tools of state-sanctioned destruction and death, not of human rights or equality.”
Rand J, a queer Palestinian organizer with Adalah, called the decision a huge win, saying, “We won’t allow our history, identities, and struggles as queer people to be commodified to buttress institutions upholding the genocidal war machine.” HRC confirmed to Them that it no longer has sponsorships with either company. Activists continue to call on HRC and other LGBTQ+ organizations to divest from weapons manufacturers permanently and to publicly call for an immediate arms embargo on Israel.
