Democratic legislators say LGBTQ rights under threat in Georgia

ATLANTA — Democratic legislators said that LGBTQ rights in Georgia could be under threat if Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is re-elected again in November.

Rep. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, said that Kemp and Georgia Republicans present a “clear and present danger” to LGBTQ Georgians.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the constitutional right to an abortion earlier this summer has caused LGBTQ Americans to worry that the court will overturn the right to same-sex marriage, Park said.

Back in 2004, Georgia voters approved a ballot measure that added a ban on same-sex marriage to the Georgia Constitution.

When the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, LGBTQ Georgians gained the right to marry freely.

But the 2004 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Georgia could go back into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the right to marry freely, Park said.

“If he has the opportunity, Brian Kemp will not hesitate to roll back the progress we made,” Park said.

A spokesperson for Kemp said that “Governor Kemp’s personal position on same-sex marriage has not changed, but this issue has been settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, an Episcopalian priest married to a woman, described how many religious denominations have changed their approach to same-sex marriage over the past two decades.

“Brian Kemp… has chosen to ignore the ways in which both the church has evolved and the very people of Georgia have evolved,” Jackson said.

“He’s ignored the evolution of his own fellow Republicans who understand that LGBTQ people have a fundamental right to access to marriage,” Jackson said.

The Democrats said they are confident that Georgians would vote in favor of a ballot measure to affirm the right to same-sex marriage in the state if given the opportunity.

However, they noted that it could be difficult to get such a measure on the ballot because it would need approval by a Republican-controlled assembly.

“Georgia is one of five states in the country that does not have comprehensive civil rights protections in which discrimination is permitted in employment, housing and public accommodations,” Park said.

Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates, the first openly gay legislator in Georgia, said that she had proposed such legislation several times but it had never moved forward.

Drenner described how she had fought for LGBTQ rights in the statehouse many times over the last two decades.

One moment of optimism came in 2020 when the state enacted a hate crimes law that provides additional penalties for those who terrorize or physically harm others based on race or sexual orientation.

“I’m here today preemptively to let everyone know … that we’re not going to go back into the shadows and be quiet about any of these issues,” Drenner said.

Anna Watkins