Another legislative session is over in Georgia 
and because of supporters like you we were able to stop all attempts at passing discriminatory legislation for the 5th year in a row!
So, to you we say thank you! While we celebrate our success though, we’re not resting at Georgia Equality. We know that bills like this will be back next year and we’re already ramping-up our efforts to educate Georgians that we need comprehensive non-discrimination measures rather than limited legislation that creates a license to discriminate.
This is also a critical election year, with an unprecedented 67% of legislators facing challengers in the primaries or general election. This number of seats, combined with a large number of legislators who have retired, mean that 2019 will be a completely different political landscape for us to navigate.
Will you help us get ready by making a donation today?
During this year’s session, thousands of you emailed or called lawmakers asking them to oppose discriminatory adoption legislation, advocate for good HIV policy and urge movement on needed hate crime legislation. We had over 100 people attend each of our two lobby days and some 200 people rally against SB 375.
Because of you:
- Multiple attempts to add religious exemption language to numerous bills failed.
- An adoption bill that will help kids in foster care find homes without discriminating against LGBTQ Georgians has already been signed by the Governor.
- Legislators in both the House and Senate made significant progress in addressing HIV prevention efforts.
- For the first time ever, the House Judiciary Committee passed an LGBTQ-inclusive hate crime bill with bi-partisan support.
During this legislative session, a number of HIV-related bills supported by Georgia Equality made their way through the legislature including HB 161, which allowed employees and agents of harm reduction organizations to not be subject to certain offenses relating to hypodermic needles. The passage of this bill would serve to address dual epidemic – the HIV epidemic and Georgia’s looming opioid crisis. Unfortunately, the House did not vote on the amended version that the Senate passed. Similarly, HB 755, sponsored by Representative Park Cannon, House Bill 755, would have established a piloted state funded PrEP Drug Assistance Program focused on rural Georgia counties that the CDC has identified as being susceptible to an HIV outbreak tied to high rates of opioid use, similar to the outbreak that occurred in Indiana in 2015, stalled in the Rules Committee of the State House of Representatives.
We were successful in helping to stall HB 737 which would allow police officers and other law enforcement to by court order, force individuals to submit to blood test for HIV, Hep B and Hep C when there has been a possible exposure to blood or bodily fluids during a lawful arrest. In its place HR 1321 was established to create a study committee to study high risk exposure to HIV, Hep B and Hep C.
You, our supporters, are making a real difference in the lives of LGBTQ Georgians around the state, and we’re not stopping now. We’re ready to fight hard to help pro-LGBT candidates win their races in our state, so make a donation today because we’ve got a lot more winning to do.
Our hard work is paying off and this is only the beginning. Join us.