Georgia
Athens Pride group to attend state capitol event advocating for LGBTQ rights
An Athens-based LGBTQ rights group plans to join similar organizations in Atlanta on Tuesday to network with state lawmakers and advocate for more equitable treatment.
Athens Pride and Queer Collective will join The Human Rights Campaign, Georgia Equality, Atlanta Pride, OUT GA Business Alliance and other advocacy organizations for “Pride to the Capitol,” a lobbying event scheduled to take place at the Georgia Capitol building.
The groups will meet at 8 a.m., when a legislative session begins that will decide whether to enact House Bill 1128, a bill dubbed the “Georgia Women’s Bill of Rights” that seeks to remove the term “gender” and replace it with “sex” in Georgia law.
State Rep. Jodi Lott (R-Evans), one of the six Republicans who sponsored HB 1128, told the Banner-Herald that the intent of the bill is to restore clarity and meaning to the term “woman” in current Georgia code.
“The word ‘gender’ is a fluid term that has taken on a very different meaning,” said Lott. “It is no longer appropriate in the majority of the code sections that it is in, and it does not match the original intent of the legislation,” she said. “(HB 1128) defines the word ‘woman’ so that if a business owner puts ‘women’ on a locker room or restroom, we know exactly what that means.”
APQC President Emerita Danielle Bonanno told the Banner-Herald that redefining gender as biological sex in legal documents directly targets the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community in Georgia, and impacts official state identification, public facilities access, and hate crime reporting, by removing gender identity from protected categories.
‘HB 1128 is basically a mandate to discriminate,” said Bonanno. “There is power in numbers and Pride to the Capitol is an opportunity to mobilize people so that we can show up in a significant way.”
The formal portion of the lobbying event will take place 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, but the HRC and other coalition members will be present at the capitol until the legislative session ends.
GEORGIA, Ga. (WALB) — A new bill introduced to the Georgia Senate could create a constitutional amendment to restrict voting to legal U.S. citizens.
The bill, Senate Resolution 4EX says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.”
If passed, Georgians will vote on the constitutional amendment in the November election.
Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said “I have been calling on the legislature for years to pass this amendment to the state constitution. I am glad to see the legislature finally act to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”
According to Raffensperger, Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizen verification of voter rolls. Since 2022, Raffensperger’s office conducted two citizenship audits of Georgia’s voter rolls.
SR 4EX Text
“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship. Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. U.S. Citizens should decide Georgia elections. Period. I urge the legislature to pass this important legislation.”
The state uses information from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to identify people who are non-citizens. This data is based on documents provided to DDS, through its REAL ID drivers licenses or state identification cards.
That information is also ran through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify an individual’s citizenship status.
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The Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt in their 11-4 win over the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the College World Series finals. It is OU’s second trip to the finals since 2022 but this one feels far more improbable.
A bubble team toward the end of the regular season and down 8-2 in an elimination game against Georgia Tech, Oklahoma has defied the odds and powered its way to the finals in Omaha. On Wednesday night, the Sooners hit five home runs against a Bulldogs team that led the nation in home runs per game this season.
Jason Walk got the home run party started, and Dasan Harris hit a pair of two-run bombs to help Oklahoma separate from one of the best teams in college baseball.
From the mound, freshman Nick Wesloski put together a strong performance for the Sooners, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched. L.J. Mercurius worked 3.1 and allowed just one earned run against the vaunted Georgia offense.
Everything is clicking for Oklahoma heading into the finals, which begins on Saturday. They’ll face a good North Carolina Tar Heels for all the marbles. But before we get to the championship series, here’s a look at how social media reacted to the Sooners win over Georgia.
Playing for a Natty
Incredible Job by Skip Johnson
Definition of Team
Just Unreal
Got Hot at the Right Time
The Moment from the Dugout
Freshmen Phenoms
Nothing Easy, Everything Earned
Team of Destiny?
Exceeding All Expectations
Dasan Harris is that Dude
Incredible Story
Sooner Magic is alive and well
Playing for a trophy
Time to lay it all on the line
Just doing ridiculous things
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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