The papers of some of Atlanta's most well-known gay activists will be donated to Emory University on Thursday during a screening of "Breaking Through," a documentary about openly gay politicians.
Donating their personal papers to Emory's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) are Doraville City Councilmember Brian Bates, state Rep. Karla Drenner, veteran political activist Ken Britt and Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held in the Jones Room at Emory's Robert W. Woodruff Library.
Three out of four openly gay incumbents in the Georgia General Assembly proved victorious in Tuesday's primary, while gay challengers in contested races were less successful. A lesbian attorney also won a seat on the Fulton County State Court in the July 31 vote.
Gay political advocate Ken Britt fell short in his bid for State House District 56. With 88.46 percent of precincts reporting, Britt has 34.62 percent of the vote, compared to 65.38 percent for "Able" Mable Thomas, according to unofficial results from the Fulton County elections office.
Both Britt and Thomas are Democrats and the winner of today's primary will get the seat because there is no Republican opponent in November.
Ken Britt and ‘Able’ Mable Thomas pits gay vs. gay-friendly in Gold Dome race
There are at least eight openly gay candidates running for seats in the Georgia General Assembly — four incumbents and five hopefuls.
Only Georgia’s first openly gay state legislator, state Rep. Karla Drenner, is unopposed, guaranteeing that there will be one out gay voice under the Gold Dome when the new legislative session starts in January.
The General Assembly’s three other openly gay incumbents — state Reps. Simone Bell, Rashad Taylor and Keisha Waites — all face opposition in the Democratic primary.
Read about gay candidates on the ballot this election day
Georgia Equality, the state's largest LGBT political group, today announced its slate of endorsements for the July 31 primary election. Early voting is already underway and runs through July 27.
Georgia Equality's picks include three openly gay incumbent state lawmakers: Reps. Karla Drenner, Simone Bell and Keisha Waites, and one openly gay candidate, Ken Britt.
Georgia Equality chose not to endorse in the hotly contested race involving the state legislature's fourth openly gay member, Rep. Rashad Taylor, who thanks to Republican-controlled redistricting is pitted for reelection against fellow Democrat Rep. Pat Gardner, a longtime LGBT rights ally.
Georgia Equality also chose to endorse incumbent gay rights ally Rep. Margaret Kaiser over openly gay challenger William Phelps in that Democratic primary race.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed met with gay activists today to discuss marriage equality, but did not emerge ready to say "I do" to same-sex nuptials.
The meeting at City Hall was not open to the press and Reed did not give interviews after it ended. Those who attended described the meeting as candid and positive, but said Reed did not announce a change in his position on marriage equality during the gathering.
“The mayor had a productive meeting and he looks forward to further discussions with the LGBT community," Reese McCranie, Reed's deputy director of communications, said in a written statement Wednesday evening.
Reed has been under increasing pressure to voice support for marriage equality after President Barack Obama announced his support in May.