The number one thing on the docket at last weekend’s Republican district conventions was selecting delegates to this July’s Republican...
Georgia GOP Chair Sue "Free Ride" Everhart isn't the only Republican in the state to spout off ridiculous nonsense about LGBT people. We hesitate to post this list today, lest you think these quotes are an April Fool's Day joke. But no, Georgia conservatives actually said all of these outrageously offensive, painfully stupid things about gay people.
Here are the five of the dumbest things prominent Georgia conservatives have publicly said about LGBT issues, culled just from the last three years of GA Voice coverage.
The Marietta Daily Journal deserves credit for first publishing several of these, a dubious honor for the city in Cobb County, which approved the infamous 1993 resolution declaring homosexuality incompatible with community standards — prompting protests that ultimately cost Cobb the chance to host events in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The 5 best (and by 'best,' we mean worst) Ga. Republican quotes on LGBT issues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a good story that was posted late Tuesday night titled "As Supreme Court weighs same-sex marriage, Georgians in 2004 battle look forward."
What we learned from the story:
• Jeff Graham, now executive director of Georgia Equality, said in 2004 Georgia LGBT activists didn't take the right approach when taking their message to voters.
"We didn’t begin to change people’s minds (with) the big politics; it’s about the simple message of wanting to take care of the person you love,” he said. “Once we stopped being afraid to talk about that fact … that’s when the public attitudes about this started to change.”
A bill that would prohibit state employees from being fired because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender never got out of a Judiciary Committee subcommittee this year in the Georgia legislature, but plans are to continue garnering support to have it passed in a future session.
When the State Fair Employment Practices Act, HB 630, was first introduced at the end of last year's session by state Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Atlanta), activists planned for the bill to take perhaps several sessions before it would get passed, said Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham.
Tanya Ditty, Hidden Man controversy, gay pumpkins and more...
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Officials from the Cobb County School District are staying mum on the recent controversy caused by one of its employees, Tanya Ditty.
Ditty, the state head of Concerned Women for America, spoke before a subcommittee of the Ga. House Judiciary Committee on House Bill 630 (State Fair Employment Practices Act) earlier this week and made national headlines when she compared gays and lesbians to pedophiles, necrophiliacs and zoophiliacs. Ditty almost instantly became the new poster-child of anti-gay bigotry. You can see Ms. Ditty's testimony, as well as a thoughtful and humorous response from State Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), here.
HB 630 (State Fair Employment Practices Act) would prohibit the state from firing its workers over their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation.
See Tanya Ditty’s absurd tirade against LGBT rights, and gay Rep. Karla Drenner’s deft comeback
Yesterday should have been a great day for Ms. Tanya Ditty. The head of the Georgia chapter of Concerned Women for America spoke before a subcommittee of the Georgia House Judiciary Committee on House Bill 630 (State Fair Employment Practices Act) on why the state's legislators should vote down employment protection for the state's LGBT employees.
It's generally an honor to sign up to speak before a legislative committee. You have the chance to appear as an expert in your field and provide meaningful insight into proposed legislation.
But today, oh man, it's game over. Ditty has gone viral.