Report comes as Georgia lawmakers consider expanding state law to protect LGBT people from discrimination

ATLANTA – A new study from RTI shows that LGBT Americans continue to face heightened levels of violence and discrimination. The survey, conducted after HB 2 became law in North Carolina and the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, found that a perceived increase in public support broadly for equality hasn’t translated into safer or more consistently equitable conditions for LGBT people. The survey is available online here.

“This is a sobering report, and a strong reminder that the need for comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community is stronger now than ever before,” said Jeff Graham, Georgia Equality’s executive director. “Many people often assume that discrimination just doesn’t happen anymore, or at least not with great frequency. But every single day, LGBT people experience discrimination and can face violence – whether they’re in a rural part of our state, or even in a buzzing metropolis like Atlanta.”

The RTI report found that rates of assault and harassment against those in the LGBT community have not decreased since the 1990s – despite recent high-profile victories for marriage equality. In fact, the study found that conditions for LGBT youth actually are deteriorating.

Bills in both the Senate and the House would update the state’s civil rights laws – among some of the most archaic in the nation – to extend nondiscrimination protections to more Georgians, including LGBT people and people of faith. There’s also bipartisan support in the House for a measure that would refer the concept of nondiscrimination protections to a study committee for additional consideration.

“We’ve come a long way in Georgia in just the last year, but we’re by no means at the finish line yet,” added Graham. “This report is a reminder that policy impacts lives. No one would ever want to face violence or discrimination, and that’s why we are strongly urging lawmakers to enact these commonsense policies that protect Georgians from all walks of life and fundamentally strengthen all of our communities.”

Passing a comprehensive, statewide civil rights law is a bipartisan issue that Georgia must confront without delay, according to Joe Whitley, a conservative attorney who served as the Acting United States Associate Attorney General in the Bush Administration.

In an op-ed penned for the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Whitley makes an informed plea for passing such a law in Georgia, which has some of the weakest civil rights protections of any state in the nation.

According to Whitley, passing a law that protects Georgians from discrimination based on their race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity would not only help keep Georgians safe, it makes good economic sense:

“The gap in Georgia laws does not reflect our values. Further, it does not align with the many other steps Georgia has taken in recent years to ensure our economy stays as strong and innovative as possible. …

… nondiscrimination measures in the public space are really just about treating others the way we ourselves want to be treated. ” –Joe Whitley, writing in the Atlanta Business Chronicle

Whitley cites the economic devastation that ensued after North Carolina passed the discriminatory House Bill 2 last year, as well as the overwhelming public outcry over Georgia’s own License to Discriminate, House Bill 757. He also lauds this year’s efforts to update Georgia’s laws, House Resolution 404, House Bill 488 and Senate Bill 119.

Whitley is also a contributor to a recent report released by Georgia Unites Against Discrimination, Liberty & Justice in Georgia: Protecting Our Heritage & Growing Our Competitive Future. Whitley writes in the report that the “The average Georgian [is] significantly more susceptible to discrimination than the average U.S. citizen.”

That’s because Georgia is one of only a handful of states that have no laws barring employers and places of public accommodation from discriminating on the basis of race or religion. And because there are no state or federal civil rights protections for LGBT people, gay and transgender Georgians can be fired, evicted and denied service in public places like parks, malls and restaurants because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Support keeps growing for these critical updates to our laws. If you’re one of the thousands of Georgians who support protecting all Georgians from discrimination, click here to sign our pledge.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced that they will not hear arguments in the highly anticipated case Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board. This case would have decided once and for all whether or not transgender students are protected from discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The SCOTUS decision to remand the case to a lower court does NOT change the law. There is still significant legal precedent showing that Title IX protects transgender students. But this decision does highlight one glaring reality: Implicit federal protections for gay and transgender people simply are not enough.

That’s why we’re pushing, at the state level, to advance non-discrimination protections for LGBT people. This year marks the first year in Georgia’s history when lawmakers introduced legislation to address discrimination against the LGBT community. And not just a one-off bill. State lawmakers have introduced three separate LGBT-inclusive measures—House Resolution 404, House Bill 488 and Senate Bill 119—with the goal of creating a state civil rights law barring discrimination.

Right now, LGBT Americans are fighting at every level of government for the right to exist and fully participate in public life—be it securing a job, finding housing, or doing something as simple as using a public restroom.

And while it may feel like an uphill battle, this year in Georgia, we have charted a new course and taken a very important first step toward advancing non-discrimination protections that ensure LGBT people have a fair shot at happiness and success.

The Court’s decision on Gavin Grimm’s case is not the end of the road. This is just a detour. And we will keep fighting until the day that LGBT people are protected from discrimination in Georgia. If you’re ready to keep fighting with us, click here to sign Georgia Unites’ pledge in support of passing an LGBT-inclusive civil rights law in Georgia ASAP.