The LGBTQ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights has partnered with Emory University and is conducting an anonymous, volunteer research study of LGBTQ people in the South. Dozens of community and grassroots organizations and individuals are helping spread the word. Georgia Equality one of them. And I hope you’ll join us.
Becoming a partner includes helping promote the survey on your social media platforms (the LGBTQ Institute will provide you tools you can use).
It’s that time of year again – open enrollment is back! From now until Dec. 15th, you can find health insurance that fits your needs and your budget for 2022. Millions now have health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including many LGBTQ+folx. 4 out of 5 HealthCare.gov customers found a plan for less than $10/month. You may even Qualify for a free plan! Even if you’ve looked before, it’s time to check out your options and find the plan that’s right for you.
Visit www.healthcare.gov to learn more about your options now!
Our LGBTQ+ family still has access to financial help for health insurance and should be treated with respect thanks to the ACA’s nondiscrimination protections. Our community is still protected from discrimination in health insurance, at the hospital or clinic, and with our doctors. You should never be disrespected simply for being who you are.
Every World AIDS Day, December 1st, carries two themes of focus. One global theme, one domestic theme. This year’s global theme is: “End Inequalities. End AIDS. End Pandemics.” This year’s domestic theme is: “Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone’s Voice.”
In commemoration of World AIDS Day, Georgia Equality, its Fellows and Youth HIV Policy Advisors will be hosting a summit for elected officials across the state of Georgia pertaining to the state’s current issues with the HIV epidemic. The issues to be shared with state-spanning officials during the summit, “The Summit on HIV Policy in the Rural South,” are Georgia-specific issues aligned with “Equitable Access, Everyone’s Voice.”
We’re still waiting on the last of the votes to be counted from Tuesday’s elections, but we’ve got great news! 75% of Georgia Equality’s endorsed candidates won their races or advanced to a runoff. We elected pro-LGBTQ candidates because of you!
Another highlight from Tuesday– Two openly LGBTQ endorsees won their races (Alex Wan for Atlanta City Council District 6 and Brett Reichert for Hapeville City Council, at-large) AND two others will advance to a runoff (Liliana Bakhtiari for Atlanta City Council District 5 and Imani Barnes for Tucker City Council District 2, Post 1).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Georgia Equality Releases 2021 Candidate Endorsements
October 8, 2021 — Today, Georgia Equality, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, released its list of endorsed candidates for the upcoming municipal elections happening on November 2, 2021.
“During municipal elections, voters may tend to be less engaged than during higher profile years, but these races couldn’t be any more important to our work,” said Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality. “Right now, thirteen Georgia cities and counties protect LGBTQ people from discrimination and this year’s endorsed candidates will help grow that number when they are elected. We’re particularly focused on the City of Tucker, where we hope to help elect Robin Biro for Mayor and Imani Barnes and Alexis Weaver to City Council– to shift the politics so that Tucker can join the growing list of municipalities in Georgia to protect LGBTQ folks and others from discrimination.”
“Our focus as an organization continues to be the advancement of laws and policies that level the playing field for LGBTQ Georgians and LGBTQ folks that visit our state,” said Kenyatta Mitchell, chair of the Georgia Equality Board of Directors. “These endorsements reflect the critical need to win this fight at the local level–where so many of the issues important to LGBTQ people are governed. Perhaps the best example is the continued struggles we see with the City of Atlanta’s administration of the Housing Opportunity for People living with AIDS (HOPWA) program. There is a great deal of opportunity for leadership on this matter and we look forward to the candidates continuing to outline the steps they would take to ensure people living with HIV in metro Atlanta get access to housing.”