Category Archives: LBGT

March 2023 Newsletter

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“They” Want Drastic Culture Change!
What do “They” want changed?

S. R. 109 Marriage, the Union of Two Adult Persons by Senator Gloria Butler (D-55), proposes the following amendment to the Constitution of the State of Georgia:
“Paragraph 1. Recognition of marriage.

(a) This state shall recognize as marriage any union between two adult persons, regardless of race, gender, or biological sex, who are of sound mind, who have no living spouse from a previously undissolved marriage, and who are not related to their prospective spouse by blood or marriage within the prohibited degrees.”

(b) Georgia would give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state or jurisdiction respecting a relationship between interracial persons or persons of the same gender or biological sex that is treated as marriage under the law of the other state or jurisdiction. The courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to grant a divorce or separate maintenance and to consider or rule on any of the parties’ respective rights arising from interracial or same-sex marriage unions.” If this passes voters would decide the following:

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to recognize marriage as any union between two adult persons eligible to marry under Georgia law regardless of race, gender, or biological sex?”

ACTION – Oppose. Contact Judiciary Committee Senators Strickland, Ch., 404 463-6598; Cowsert, V-Ch., 463-1366; Hodges, Sec.,463-1309; Gooch, Ex-Officio, 656-9221; Hatchett, 656-7454; Jones II, 656-0036; Kennedy, 656-6578; Parent, 656-5109; Rhett, 656-0054; Setzler, 656-0256; Watson, 656-7880.

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May 2022 Newsletter

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Georgia General Primary Election May 24th

The General Primary Election will be May 24, 2022. Advance voting begins May 2nd and ends May 20th. An absentee ballot may be requested by mail through May 13th.

NONPARTISAN Ballot – Statewide Candidates
Nonpartisan ballots do not list candidates for governor, Congress or the State Legislature.
Justice of the Supreme Court – SHAWN ELLEN LAGRUA, INC.
Justice of the Supreme Court – CARLA MCMILLIAN, Incumbent
Justice of the Supreme Court – VERONICA BRINSON or VERDA M. COLVIN-Incumbent
Judge of the Court of Appeals – ANNE ELIZABETH BARNES-Incumbent
Judge of the Court of Appeals – CHRIS MCFADDEN-Incumbent
Judge of the Court of Appeals – TREA PIPKIN-Incumbent

  • To view the remainder of the candidates in both the Republican and Democrat races and other legislative wrap-us, click here.

February 2022 Newsletter Extra Edition

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Committees are the Best Place to Amend, Stop or Pass Legislation

Recently, someone asked why should anyone be interested in what happens in the Georgia General Assembly. Simply put, legislators determine how we are governed. They pass bills and resolutions that become laws that affect our lives, hopefully for the better, sometimes not so much or, perhaps, they diminish our liberties and increase the power of government.

When introduced, bills are given numbers, so they can be identified and tracked as they proceed through committees and, possibly, onto the House and Senate floors for passage or defeat. All legislators are assigned to committees (many to several committees) where bills are debated, amended, rewritten and passed as substitute bills or favorably reported in the original version. Committees are the best place to get legislation passed, stopped, or amended. Members are especially accessible when they have public hearings for speakers to present the pros and cons.

However, the House and Senate have a major committee stop-gap or gate-keeper, their Rules committee that works as a clearing house to decide which bills live or die. Rules Committees may amend a piece of legislation or hold it in committee (kill it), or pass it onto the House or Senate floor for passage or defeat. Committees are keys to the legislative process.

The master keys are the (a) Senate Rules Committee – one of 29 standing committees in the Senate – and (b) the House Rules Committee – one of 42 standing committees in the House. The list of Senate Rules Committee members remained the same from last session, while the House Rules Committee added three members, dropped one and the vice chairman switched positions with another member.

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October 2019 Newsletter

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DANGER! Equality Act, Half-way through Congress

Do you want gambling unleashed on Georgia?

“All that glitters is not gold. Why do they have to have so much law enforcement? Because this is absolutely one of the most dangerous industries that you can have in your state.”
– Mike Griffin, Georgia Baptist Mission Board, October 16, 2019

On October 15, 16 and 17, the newly appointed Special Committee on Economic Growth held full-day hearings about legalizing all gambling in Georgia, as proposed in the following bills:
H.R. 3781 All Forms of Betting, Bingo, Raffles, and Gambling Shall be Permitted, authored by Representative Ron Stephens and three co-sponsors, was introduced February 27th. Briefly, it went into a House committee, but is now in the Special Committee on Economic Growth. H.R. 378 amends the Lottery section of Article I, Section II, Paragraph VIII (a) of The Constitution of the State of Georgia and adds new paragraphs to create the Georgia Gaming Commission and define its duties. The Commission would decide which forms of for-profit1 bingo games, raffles by for-profit organizations, betting and gambling to legalize, then, regulate the ones they authorize. Of over 30 speakers from inside and outside Georgia, at least 27 – casino owners, gaming proponents, out-of-state legislators and officials, contractors and builders – want casinos and horseracing here, while three2 explained gambling’s dangers.

As a proposed constitutional amendment, a two-thirds vote is required for passage in both House and Senate. If they pass it, the following would be a question on the November 2020 ballot. If a simple majority votes YES, commercialized gambling would be legalized.

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide for the legalization of all forms of betting, bingo games, raffles, and gambling as permitted by the Georgia Gaming Commission and to provide for the establishment of such commission in order to regulate such activities?”

  • To read the rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.