Equality News

by Wes Sanders

Federal Judge Restores Access to Gender-Affirming Care for Georgia Transgender Youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATLANTA, GA (August 21, 2023) – On Sunday night, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction halting provisions of Senate Bill 140, Georgia’s restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, from taking effect while a legal case challenging the legislation proceeds.

“The federal Judge confirms what so many families and transgender youth have been saying all along: that bans against healthcare are harmful, dangerous, discriminatory, and illegal,” said Georgia Equality’s executive director Jeff Graham. “It is our hope that this loss, and its echoes all over the country, along with overwhelming public opposition, will discourage any further legislative action targeting trans folks when the General Assembly convenes again in January.” 

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by Jessica Douglas

Apply Now: Development & Communications Intern

Fall Semester Development & Communications Intern

Duration: 10-12 weeks

Students receiving course credit preferred, not required.

Hours: The candidate must firmly commit to at least 10 hours per week with daily hours depending on the student’s class schedule and availability.

Location: Internship will be primarily remote, with some in-person, off-site events to be done. Occasional visits to Georgia Equality office (1530 DeKalb Avenue, Atlanta, GA) may be requested. Continue reading →

by Jessica Douglas

Dr. Fred Richter, Champion for Equality

On July 29, 2023 in Statesboro, Georgia Equality was proud to honor Dr. Fred Richter with the Champion for Equality Award due to his hard work to advance fairness, safety, and opportunity for LGBTQ+ people in Statesboro and across Georgia. This is Dr. Richter’s acceptance speech:

I am deeply grateful for this honor, but in truth, all I’ve ever done is SAY GAY. The incriminating word was “homosexual” when I was a boy, and I said it to myself in my closet of despair. A crime, a sickness, a sin. Heavy burden for any young boy or girl.

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by Jessica Douglas

PRESS RELEASE: DEKALB COUNTY PASSES ADDITIONAL LGBTQ PROTECTIONS FROM DISCRIMINATION

Georgia’s latest municipality to explicitly protect LGBTQ people.

July 11, 2023 (DeKalb County, GA) – Today, by unanimous vote, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners passed a nondiscrimination ordinance providing critical public accommodation protections to LGBTQ folks and other marginalized groups who live, work, and visit DeKalb County as well as explicit employment protections to LGBTQ county employees. Continue reading →

by Jessica Douglas

PRESS RELEASE: 303 CREATIVE: U.S. SUPREME COURT ALLOWS BUSINESSES LICENSE TO DISCRIMINATE

June 30, 2023 (Atlanta, GA) – In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s breaking decision that 303 Creative, Inc. can constitutionally refuse business to customers on the basis of their sexual orientation, experts released the following statements:

Jeff Graham (he/him), Executive Director of Georgia Equality, said:

“Today, the U.S. Supreme Court gave way to targeted efforts to roll back long-standing protections for LGBTQ+ people. Our country decided long ago that a business opening its doors to the public must do so to everybody on the same terms. Yet this radical and reckless ruling contradicts decades of settled law and opens the door for discrimination against people of all different backgrounds– LGBTQ+ people, people of color, women, and people of different faiths. We commend Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in this case, likely the most affirming statement on the history and dignity of LGBTQ+ people to ever appear in a Supreme Court opinion.

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