1. A Warner Robins police officer has come out as transgender. Anna Lange has worked for the Houston County Sheriff’s Department...
Late Wednesday, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's office issued a lengthy rebuttal to a Politifact.com ruling that he had performed a "full flop" on gay marriage.
Reed's office organized a social media campaign against the article, despite the fact that it detailed Reed's past support of LGBT rights and took great pains to clarify that a rating that he had changed his position need not be viewed as negative.
"First, a quick reminder about the Flip-O-Meter," the article states. "It makes no value judgment. Some might see a flip as a sign of weakness or political opportunism, but it can also be the outcome of an earnest re-evaluation of the facts."
The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Politifact.com today released an analysis of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's recent embrace of same-sex marriages, calling the change of heart a “major reversal of position” and a political “flip-flop.”
Mayor Reed has been an advocate for LGBT causes during his time as mayor and as a state legislator, but instead of embracing the change of position, his comments on the article seem to indicate that he was in our corner the entire time. In truth, he was a friend and an advocate and supporter of civil unions, but he was not a supporter of marriage equality until quite recently.
From the mayor's official Facebook account this morning:
Jim Galloway, writer of the Political Insider column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, says that the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials won't support boycotts of the state as part of opposition to passage of the law.
GALEO is headed up by openly gay man Jerry Gonzalez.
According to Galloway, Gonzales issued a statement that states:
Jeff Schultz, sports writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has covered the Atlanta Braves — and all other Atlanta sports teams — for years.
When news broke that Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell was accused of using anti-gay slurs against San Francisco Giants fans on April 23 at the San Francisco ballpark, Schultz wrote that the coach should be suspended at least 30 days.
“He needs to be hit with a suspension, and hit hard. The absolute minimum: 30 games without pay, a significant fine and court-mandated Saying Stupid Things Rehab. If even half what has been alleged is true, most of us would be fired,” Schultz wrote.
When McDowell was suspended by Major League Baseball for two weeks, Schultz said McDowell should consider himself "lucky."
Atlanta police officers involved in the Atlanta Eagle raid spent a great deal of money on shots of liquor before the actual raid began, according to a news report.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that officer Bennie Bridges, the lead investigator of the raid and who was working undercover, spent $50 of APD funds on drinks on Sept. 10, 2009, the night of the raid. The AJC also states that Bridges spent another $60 on drinks on May 29, 2009, while working undercover into allegations of illicit sex and drug use taking place at the Midtown gay bar.
Another officer the night of the raid, Jared Watkins, also working undercover, spent $60 on drinks the night of the raid.