With additional reporting by Anna Simonton and Matthew Charles Cardinale. Photograph by Steve Eberhardt. (APN) ATLANTA — The Georgia General Assembly wrapped up the 2015 legislative session on Thursday, April 02, 2015. There were a few progressive highlights in the majority-Republican Legislature, including a solar power lease agreement bill; a limited medical cannabis bill; and more flexibility for MARTA […]
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Photograph by Steve Eberhardt. (APN) ATLANTA — Four women were arrested when they visited the office of State Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) to talk with him and deliver a message about SB 129, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bill, that he introduced. McKoon refused to meet with the women. They planned to stay until he agreed […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Yesterday, Thursday, March 26, 2015, the House Judiciary Civil Committee voted to amend SB 129, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bill, to expressly state that eradicating discrimination is a compelling government interest, thus prohibiting religious freedom being used as a justification for discrimination. LGBTQI equality advocates celebrated the amendment, introduced by State Rep. Mike Jacobs […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On Tuesday, March 17, 2015, hundreds came to Liberty Plaza, across from the State Capitol, to oppose, SB 129, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bill. People from as far away as Columbus and Macon joined with folks from the Atlanta area to express their concerns to legislators that SB 129 could be a license to discriminate […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — When HB 29 and SB 129 were introduced in the Georgia House and Senate this year, respectively, advocates of LGBTQI equality immediately waxed hyperbolic, calling it the Hate the Gays bill. Atlanta Progressive News ran a lengthy analysis in early January 2015 explaining that the bill was more broadly encompassing and more substantively complex than its […]
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With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale (APN) ATLANTA — On Thursday, March 05, 2015, the full State Senate voted to engross SB 129, the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Bill, in a vote of 38 yeas to 17 nays. The bill passed the Senate in a vote of 37 to 15. Engrossment means that the bill cannot be changed; […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On Monday, March 02, 2015, the Senate Judiciary Civil Committee passed an amended version of SB 129, the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The amended version states in the legislative findings but not in the operative text of the bill that courts “have consistently held that government has a fundamental, overriding interest in eradicating discrimination.” […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — U.S. District Judge William Duffey has denied a motion to dismiss the case brought by several same-sex couples in Georgia, challenging Georgia’s statutory and constitutional provisions prohibiting same-sex marriages. The court’s denial of the motion means that the case, Christopher Innis, et al., v. Deborah Aderhold, et al., can now go forward. In 1996, the Georgia […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — In previous editorials I have written about the interrelationship between media and society. While the theory of objective media purports that reporters are to sit on the sidelines observing society, in fact news outlets are a part of the society they cover. One sign of a healthy media is when news articles impact a situation by raising […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — With several immigration-related bills introduced this year in the Georgia Legislature, some of the most sweeping measures–modeled after recently passed immigration reforms in Arizona–are advancing to passage, while other bills face hurdles or have stagnated. Atlanta Progressive News has attended committee hearings and observed floor debates related to several of these bills. HB 87, “SHOW ME […]
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