Urge Your Legislator to Support Anti-Bullying Legislation
In 2009, the country was shocked to learn that two 11 year old boys (Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover) had killed themselves after enduring constant bullying at school from classmates who called them gay. One of these two boys, Jaheem Herrera, lived in Stone Mountain Georgia.
Now is the time we must redouble our efforts to pass legislation that not only strengthens existing state policies on bullying, but compels school districts to recognize that bullying based on perceptions of sexual orientation or gender identity are especially destructive to young lives.
Georgia Equality asks you to remember Jaheem and Carl Joseph by taking action to protect other students in the future.
In 2008, the Senate passed anti-bullying legislation by a vote of 54-0. A House Education Sub-committee and the full House Education Committee also passed this legislation by unanimous vote. Unfortunately, a floor vote on the bill did not take place by the end of the 2008 Session.
Ask your legislator to support the passage of anti-bullying legislation in 2010
GEORGIA - THEN & NOW
As we leave another year in the dust and look ahead to the future and where our movement wil
l take us, I am reminded of when I first moved to Georgia twenty years ago - then homosexuality was considered a felony offense under state law. There was no state funding for medicines to treat AIDS. There were no employment protections for LGBT individuals. There were no openly gay elected officials. The political environment could not have been more hostile towards us. Yet I was excited to be moving here and getting involved in working for the change I knew was possible.
Today eleven municipalities and some of our state’s largest employers have enacted ordinances and policies prohibiting employment discrimination, half of those include protections based on gender identity or expression. The availability of domestic partnership benefits continues to increase throughout the state. More than a dozen openly gay or lesbian officials have been elected to councils and commissions, including two open lesbians in the Georgia legislature. Nearly $10 million is approved by the state each year to support life-saving medications for people living with HIV. Numerous agencies exist throughout the state to serve the needs of the LGBT community. More and more faith communities are welcoming to gay and transgender congregants and many are joining the movement to advocate for fairness and equality.
Georgia is a very different place to be a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individual than it was when I first moved here. These advances in equality happened because of the hard work and commitment of many individuals and organizations. And for the past fifteen years, Georgia Equality has played an important role in winning our community’s most important victories.
That is why I am writing you today. Georgia Equality needs you.
History gives us hope that we can reach our goals of marriage equality, employment protections for all private and municipal workers, fairness while accessing social services or medical care and protection from bullying and violence. With your support, Georgia Equality can work with our community partners to advance fairness, safety and opportunities for LGBT individuals and our allies throughout the state.
Your monthly donations of $10 to $100 or your one time donation of $35 or more will help us reach our goal of raising $10,000 to support our work during the 2010 legislative session. We have a strong chance of passing anti-bulling legislation and advancing the debate on hate crimes. We must also be there to ensure our fair share of funding in the state budget and to defend against attacks on our families.
Your support will also provide the resources we need to influence the outcomes of critical state races as part of our ongoing Campaign for a Fair Majority. With a number of special elections and competitive primaries happening in the first half of the year, it is important that we are able to fund the work of electing legislators and statewide offices such as the Governor who will support LGBT equality.
Electing fair-minded officials on all levels of state government is crucial to advancing pro-equality legislation. Our ability to screen candidates, educate voters and mobilize volunteers relies exclusively upon the support of donors like you.
This past year we saw the cities of Clarkston and Chamblee pass employment non-discrimination acts. We passed HIV prevention legislation. We founded the Georgia HIV Advocacy Network. We led the fight for domestic partnership benefits in Savannah. We partnered with the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative to create the Phillip Rush Center to support LGBT services, education and organizing. We secured funding to help launch United 4 Safety, an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence in the LGBT community. We helped elect a number of pro-equality candidates including State Representative Simone Bell, the first openly-gay African American woman in the country to be elected to a state legislature.
As we enter into a new decade, just imagine what we can accomplish together.
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Happy New Year!
Jeff Graham
Executive Director
For payment problems or questions, please contact our office at 404-523-3070.
