GOAL was founded in New York City in 1982, at a time when being openly gay in law enforcement could cost you your job, your safety, or both. The organization exists because LGBTQIA+ officers needed protection, solidarity, and a voice—long before it was safe or popular.

Today, GOAL continues that work.

Our members include active and retired police officers, detectives, supervisors, and criminal justice professionals. We work in uniform and out of uniform. We serve like every other public servant—while also navigating the realities of being LGBTQIA+ in a profession that hasn’t always made room for us.

GOAL exists for three core reasons:

• To support LGBTQIA+ law enforcement professionals in their careers and wellbeing

• To advocate for equal treatment, dignity, and opportunity within the workplace

• To engage the public honestly about who we are and what we do

We don’t pretend law enforcement is perfect.
We also don’t accept the idea that LGBTQIA+ people don’t belong in it.

Both things can be true.

GOAL is not an outside watchdog group or a political slogan. Our members work within the criminal justice system every day. That gives us credibility—and responsibility.

Our advocacy is practical:

• Addressing discrimination when it happens

• Supporting members facing harassment, bias, or retaliation

• Advising leadership on policy, training, and workplace equity

• Building bridges between law enforcement and LGBTQIA+ communities

We know change doesn’t happen by shouting from the sidelines alone.
It also happens by showing up to work and pushing institutions to do better.

For our members, GOAL can mean:

• A place to belong when isolation is the norm

• Guidance from people who’ve been there before

• Institutional backing when things go wrong

• A reminder that they’re not alone

For the public, GOAL represents something simple but often overlooked:
LGBTQIA+ people serve in law enforcement. They always have.