The news came to us via the Honorable State House Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) who will attend the annual event and present the city's proclamation.
Drenner was the first openly lesbian elected to the Georgia General Assembly. In 2004, she opposed Georgia's pernicious constitutional ban on same-gender marriage, one of many forms of homophobia that LGBT people face in the political arena, in government, in laws that disadvantage us, and institutionalize discrimination and hate.
During Georgia's battle over marriage equality, The NYTimes described Drenner as a gay legislator who had "become the most visible — and derided — opponent" of the state assembly's effort to codify discrimination against LGBT people. For her stand, she received "a torrent of venomous e-mail and telephone calls." Despite the attacks, Drenner offered these encouraging words still relevant for today:
"When it gets real bad, I think about the 24th mile, the come-to-Jesus mile, when you've got blisters on your feet and your whole body aches," said Ms. Drenner, a Democrat from suburban Atlanta. . ."For me, the finish line here is when this country doesn't care who you love." [Emphasis added.]Well said! We may not see change immediately but the time to act is now. And each of us can make a difference. Let's encourage each other to act boldly, to keep going.
We welcome State Rep. Karla Drenner and admire her public service.
The City of Atlanta's proclamation represents a step toward the recognition that we, as a community, as an international city, must publicly address homophobia in all its life-denigrating and equality-denying forms.
Please join us, speak up, and stand up with us on May 17.
UPDATE: We learned, due to new procedures not published on the City of Atlanta website, that an official proclamation cannot be obtained in time for the event. However, Alex Wan of the Atlanta City Council is working on a proclamation so stay tuned!
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