As the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) increases, many LGBTQ people are understandably concerned about how this virus may affect us and our communities. Georgia Equality joined over 100 community organizations to highlight the LGBTQ community’s increased vulnerability to the Coronavirus. As LGBTQ community leaders, we stand with health leaders to make sure we do not allow any population to be disproportionately impacted or further stigmatized by the virus.
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Author: Danielle Quesenberry
Reflections at 25: Cindy Abel
As we continue celebrating our 25th anniversary, we pause to look back at the people and events that shaped Georgia Equality.
Cindy Abel, an Atlanta LGBTQ filmmaker, served as the first Executive Director of Georgia Equality. Cindy previously served as the Director of Stonewall Cincinnati and relocated to Atlanta to be Executive Director for the small, newly founded LGBTQ organization. At the time, Georgia Equality had no full-time staff and desperately needed full-time support to work on fundraising and increasing visibility. As for the political landscape – the State Capitol, according to Cindy, was “not a welcoming climate – to put it mildly.” “This was in the wake of the Otherside Lounge bombing of February of 1997 and LGBT relations were tense. Most work with the legislature involved stopping ‘anti-bills,’ and it was hard to promote anything for LGBT equality. We were mostly fighting off harmful initiatives,“ she continued.
HIV/AIDS Health Care for Georgia Minors FAQ
With a new ruling from the Georgia Attorney General’s office, there are fewer restrictions than ever for minors who wish to access care or PrEP. Check out this FAQ on HIV/AIDS health care for Georgia minors.
15 LGBTQ and Allied Organizations Call for Trans-Inclusive Bathroom Policy for Pickens County School District
15 LGBTQ and allied organizations (listed below) urged the Pickens County School District to develop a trans-inclusive bathroom policy. The group, led by Georgia Equality, is disappointed in the Pickens County Board of Education’s recent determination to suspend its decision to allow transgender students to use restrooms that align with their gender identity. The decision comes after a heated discussion during an open Town Hall held by the school board on Monday with hundreds of parents and community members in attendance. The discussion was centered around the reasons parents disagreed with the decision to allow transgender students the right to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. The school board has reported death threats, threats of violence, and vandalism tied to this debate as the reason for the suspension of their initial decision to allow a trans affirming policy for bathroom use. We condemn these threats of violence and hatred.
Nondiscrimination Protections Now!
The U.S. Supreme Court heard three LGBTQ civil rights cases today that will interpret federal employment nondiscrimination laws and could affirm LGBTQ protections from harassment or discrimination at work. However, the vulnerability to discrimination and harassment due to the lack of protections at the state level is not new to LGBTQ Georgians.
Georgia is only one of three states without employment protections for anyone, including LGBTQ people. Check out this editorial from Blue Ridge resident, Connie Galloway. Connie was fired without cause and faced the same discrimination as the plaintiffs in the cases heard by the Supreme Court today.
Regardless of the outcome of the cases heard by the Supreme Court, we’re telling Georgia lawmakers, ‘Peach State, We’re Late!’ and calling on our state legislature to pass a comprehensive statewide nondiscrimination law to ensure enduring protections for all Georgians. Click here to tell your state lawmaker that you support nondiscrimination protections.
Don’t forget to join us tomorrow (Oct. 9) at 7:00 p.m. as we partner with the ACLU of Georgia for a special Facebook live town hall meeting to review the oral arguments and discuss what Georgians can do to respond.We’ll be streaming live and taking questions from people throughout the state. Click here for details.