LGBT people have a larger and deeper public presence than ever before in America, but has that led to less discrimination?
That’s the question CNN, Emory University and the National Center for Civil & Human Rights have partnered to try and answer with a public form on Dec. 14 at Grady High School.
The panel, part of a series of CNN Dialogues, is titled, “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender: Has More Openness Led to More Acceptance?” Transgender activist and author Donna Rose, Robin Brand of Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, ESPN senior writer LZ Granderson and Olympic skater Johnny Weir will share their views on a panel moderated by CNN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell, who has come out publicly as a lesbian.
Pam Miller, endorsed by Georgia Equality and the national Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, hopes to be the first openly gay candidate elected in Savannah. Her race against incumbent Mary Ellen Sprague in District 4 of the Savannah City Council has garnered enough attention to be considered one of the Victory Fund’s “Top 10 Races to Watch” come Nov. 8.
“These are exciting and even historic races,” said Shawn Werner, the Victory Fund’s director of campaign services, in a statement. “In each case a victory would mean a real step forward for a local LGBT community, and some of these will be very competitive up until Election Day.
“You hear some call 2011 an ‘off year’ for politics, but that’s wrong. We’ve endorsed 75 candidates this year, largely in municipal elections. These local races are incredibly important. We don’t just win equality nationally or even statewide. We win it every day, city by city and town by town,” Werner said.