As I sat to write, the City of Atlanta is gearing up for a busy weekend of queer activity. The headlining event of Labor Day weekend, Atlanta’s Annual Black Gay Pride celebration, is sure to attract tens of thousands of the “Children” to what is considered the largest Black pride festival in the world.
Throw on top of that a joint Georgia Equality/HRC sponsored protest and picket of local Target and Best Buy retail stores taking place on Saturday, bringing awareness to their recent flush donations to support a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate running on an anti-gay platform, and the fact that many will be toasting the end of summer in style during the ensuing three-day weekend, and it seems like every queer in the metro area will have something do.
In the aftermath of Target donating to a political action committee funding an anti-gay gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, local activists plan to protest at the Edgewood Shopping Center Target and Best Buy on Saturday, Sept. 4, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Georgia Equality issued a press release today citing the reasons for a protest, despite an apology from Target, Corp.
Joan Garner will be the first openly gay member of the Fulton County Commission, after the eighth time didn’t prove to be the charm for Keisha Waites, who faced off with Garner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff for Fulton County District 6.
The Queer Justice League of Atlanta, Georgia Equality and MEGA Family Project are finalizing plans for a counter-protest to an anti-gay marriage group’s planned demonstration in Atlanta.
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) will make its way to the Georgia Capitol on August 7th as part of a national “marriage tour.”
In other races closely watched by LGBT voters today, a gay candidate fell short in the Democratic primary for State House District 80 and Sen. Vincent Fort cruised to reelection in State Senate District 39.
In the Democratic primary for the District 6 seat on the Fulton County Commission, lesbian candidates Joan Garner and Keisha Waites appear headed for a runoff.
The National Organization for Marriage, the group that spearheaded the opposition to California’s Proposition 8 in 2008, will stop in Atlanta on Aug. 7 to hold a protest at the state capitol as part of a national bus tour.
The protest will take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Several Atlanta organizations, including the Queer Justice League of Atlanta, MEGA Family Project and Georgia Equality, denounced the planned visit today in a press release.
It’s funny the difference time makes.
Seven months ago, gay Atlanta was at a fever pitch as we collectively attempted to navigate increasingly polarizing mayoral elections. Press conferences from the parking lot of Outwrite Bookstore, candidate meet & greets hosted by the metro areas gay elite, and strategic editorials and exclusives with the gay-friendly press scored a heated campaign that, at times, seemed like it could tear the LGBT community apart.
The race to replace Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who is running for governor, is the only statewide race where both Georgia Equality and the Atlanta Stonewall Democrats issued endorsements.
Both LGBT political groups backed Rep. Rob Teilhet, a Democrat. As a member of the Georgia House, he voted against the 2004 state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
“He is with us the majority of the time,” said GE Executive Director Jeff Graham, noting that Teilhet supports “basic fairness issues in terms of employment protection, supporting basic rights and existing law as it relates to our families and relationships.”
None of the candidates returned the Georgia Voice survey.
Georgia Equality chose to sit out the race for Secretary of State, as the job does not deal directly with LGBT-specific issues. Atlanta Stonewall Democrats endorsed Michael Mills, although Gail Buckner and Gary Horlacher also applied.
Mills was the only candidate to return the Georgia Voice survey. He said he would publicly support a broad range of LGBT issues, but stopped short of full marriage rights, backing civil unions for gay couples instead.