UPDATE: Atlanta City Council votes against outlawing adult businesses on Cheshire Bridge Road
In a 9 to 6 vote on Monday, the Atlanta City Council voted against rezoning Cheshire Bridge Road that would have caused at least seven adult businesses to be shut down by 2018.
The proposed ordinances, sponsored by openly gay council member Alex Wan, sought to rezone two districts along the popular thoroughfare which has become known as the city’s red light district.
The city’s zoning committee days earlier voted to approve the legislation.
GAYPWR wins in Georgia — really
An Atlanta gay man who sued the state after his requests for three separate gay-themed vanity license plates were denied settled his lawsuit on Wednesday.
James Cyrus Gilbert, who goes by Cyrus, filed a federal lawsuit in January against Robert G. Mikell, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Driver Services, after his requests for GAYPWR, GAYGUY and 4GAYLIB license plates were denied. He was told each of them were “unavailable,” said his attorney, Cynthia Counts.
Mayor Kasim Reed speaks out on marriage equality ahead of Supreme Court decision
Several mayors from across the country participated in a conference call today sponsored by the Respect for Marriage Coalition to urge the Supreme Court to strike down DOMA.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who announced his support for marriage equality in December after struggling with the issue for some time, said today that while his city is progressive and offers domestic partnerships to city workers, Georgia overall is very conservative.
Retired Navy SEAL comes out as transgender
After 20 years in the military and as part of the SEAL unit that went on to kill Osama bin Laden, Kristen Beck has come out as transgender in a new memoir, “Warrior Princess.”
The book, to be published Tuesday according to The Atlantic, tells how Beck finally decided to transition to female after retiring from the Navy in 2011.
Georgia congregation cheers pastor for kicking out (gay) Boy Scouts
Several churches in Georgia are busily kicking out Boy Scouts after the national organization said it would allow gay boys into its ranks (but still keep out those pesky adults who were at one time gay youth themselves.).
And Georgia, while it now has to accept GAYPWR, is getting some downright dismaying reactions to the pastors of these churches who are not doing what Jesus would do and turning away these young men because, well, being gay is a sin, according to their narrow minds.