Author: Danielle Quesenberry

by Danielle Quesenberry

Georgia Equality’s Statement on Morehouse College

The Nation’s Only All-Male Historically Black College Will Admit Transgender Men Starting Next Year

ATLANTA (April 15, 2019) – Over the weekend, Morehouse College, the nation’s only all-male historically black college, announced that it will update its admissions policy to include transgender men. This comes on the heels of neighboring women’s institution and historically black college, Spelman College, adopting an admission policy inclusive of transgender women in 2017.

The policy, which is set to go into effect in 2020, marks a major shift in the school’s 152-year history, and comes at a time when colleges across the country are evaluating more inclusive policies for LGBTQ and gender non-conforming students.

“This is a great first step for Morehouse that should be celebrated, especially as trans rights are federally under attack,” said Georgia Equality Deputy Director and Morehouse Alumnus, Eric Paulk. “However, it’s important to be mindful of the work that has to happen between now and the implementation of the new policy to ensure an atmosphere of equity and safety for trans students and LGBTQ+ students on campus. This means ensuring that these voices lead and are centered in every step of the process.”

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by Danielle Quesenberry

2019 Georgia Legislative Session Wrap-Up

Georgia EqualityThe 2019 Georgia legislative session is officially behind us, and we have a lot of bills to update you on! Thanks to you, our supporters, we saw progress on a historic number of bills on our legislative priorities. Here’s an update on the bills Georgia Equality worked on this session:

SB 106: Patients First Act (Medicaid Waiver)

This bill would allow the State Department of Community Health to apply for two waivers from the US Department of Health and Human Services.  One waiver will allow the Governor to expand Medicaid to individuals and families who make up to 100% of the Federal Poverty Level.  The second waiver will allow the state to develop a system to help people making between 100% – 138% of the Federal Poverty Level to purchase insurance policies. While this is not the full Medicaid expansion we have long advocated for, it is estimated that as many as 16,000 people living with HIV could gain access to Medicaid through this waiver process.

Status: Signed into law by Governor Kemp

SB 221: Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)

This bill would allow individuals and companies to refuse to follow nondiscrimination laws and policies if they are in conflict with someone’s religious views.

Status: Stalled in Senate Judiciary committee without a hearing, however, the legislation will remain live and could move in the 2020 legislative session.

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by Danielle Quesenberry

Eric Paulk Named New Deputy Director

We’re excited to announce that after an extensive search for our Deputy Director, the decision has been made to promote our HIV Policy Organizer, Eric Paulk to the role.

As HIV Policy Organizer, Eric successfully led our HIV policy efforts including the Youth HIV Policy Advisors Program. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Morehouse College and a Juris Doctor from Pace University.

Throughout the interview process, he developed a vibrant vision for bringing on new staff positions to better support the administrative functions of the organization and support the programmatic work of the staff. His proven leadership and understanding of working within coalitions will be an invaluable asset to the organization as we begin the process of developing our next strategic plan.

Please join our board and staff in congratulating Eric on his promotion!

by Danielle Quesenberry

PRESS RELEASE: Once Again, Georgia Lawmakers Recklessly Pursue Anti-LGBT Legislation

ATLANTA — Yesterday Senator Marty Harbin (R-16) filed SB 221, so-called “religious liberty” legislation that is poised to bring economic backlash to Georgia for the sixth consecutive year. SB 221 would allow businesses to refuse service to LGBT customers, among others, and would grant taxpayer-funded agencies a broad license to discriminate against LGBT youth, families, and other Georgians. The language mirrors federal language that was recently used by a government-funded foster care agency in South Carolina to justify discriminating against Catholic and Jewish couples looking to serve as foster parents.

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by Danielle Quesenberry

2019 Legislative Preview

 

It’s always a challenge to predict what will happen in any upcoming legislative session, but the 2019 session is already shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable in decades. While Republicans still have large majorities in both the House and the Senate, Democrats flipped a total of eleven seats in the House and two in the Senate. Perhaps more importantly, there are an additional sixteen seats in the House and six in the Senate that could be competitive in the 2020 election. That fact alone could make for some interesting politics. However, beyond the simple partisan math, due to incumbents who either retired or lost seats in the primary or general elections, there will be some 30 new members of the legislature. While roughly half of them we know to be pro-equality, we don’t know much about the others and how they will vote on issues of concern to Georgia Equality’s members and the LGBTQ community.

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