Senate Bill 613, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was introduced in the Georgia State Senate today. This dangerous bill is meant to stigmatize LGBTQ people, isolate LGBTQ kids, and make teachers fearful of providing a safe, inclusive classroom. It must be stopped –Send a message to your State Senator, RIGHT NOW, and urge them to oppose SB 613!
This bill would stifle the full inclus Continue reading
I’ve got some troubling news—the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ fight has come to Georgia. This latest attack on LGBTQ kids is disturbing, but not new. A remarkably similar bill just passed Florida’s legislature, and while we’re busy reviewing the exact language of SB 613, here’s what we know: This bill attemps to stifle the full inclusion of LGBTQ students in classrooms across Georgia.
We will do everything in our power to stop this this bill, but these endless attacks require a continuous and sustained defense from all of us, and that’s why I’m writing today — to ask you to join our fight by committing to a monthly contribution to Georgia Equality. Continue reading
Members of the Georgia State Senate voted 34 to 22 this afternoon to pass SB 435, a measure intended to exclude trans students from playing school sports in the gender they live every day. The NCAA, the International Olympic Committee, the Women’s Sports Foundation, and more all support the inclusion of transgender people in sports. Proponents of this bill are wasting time and taxpayer dollars trying to interfere in kids’ sports when experts are already making sure that all students are treated fairly.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Georgia Equality Responds to Filing of Bill
to Exclude Trans Students from Sport
February 2, 2022 (Atlanta, GA) — Georgia Equality, the state’s largest organization working to advance fairness, safety and opportunity for LGBTQ communities and allies in Georgia, responded to yesterday’s filing of anti-transgender legislation Senate Bill (SB) 435 and specifically its call for the exclusion of trans students from full inclusion in school sports.
SB 435 would force an already vulnerable group of young people in Georgia onto the sidelines. For transgender youth, many of whom experience high rates of depression and suicidality, access to sport can be lifesaving. Sports teach invaluable, lifelong lessons about teamwork, discipline and hard work, and every young person deserves equal access and opportunity.
Athens, GA (January 27, 2022) – Georgia Equality, ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Southeast, and SOJOURN were troubled to learn of reports from parents of students at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School in Athens, GA this week indicating that a piece of student artwork containing the phrase “Gay is OK” was removed from a classroom display after a school administrator likened it to displaying a Nazi flag.
Let us say plainly, we condemn any connection between a Pride flag and a swastika – one symbolizes love and connection; the other symbolizes hate and genocide. They should never be treated with any kind of equal standing and it is egregious and unacceptable for any educator to make such a statement. Continue reading