LETTER: Mayor’s veto of LGBTQ ordinance underlines need for federal protections, urgency of local action
2020 was a year filled with so many challenges – but in some important ways, it was also one marked by progress for LGBTQ people here in Georgia. Gerald Bostock, a gay man in Georgia, won his case at the U.S. Supreme Court, securing federal protections for LGBTQ workers; out LGBTQ candidates won their elections in record numbers; and municipalities from Brookhaven to Savannah and Smyrna to Statesboro, enacted LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections.
Those steps forward stand in stark contrast to what happened at the end of the year in Macon-Bibb County, where the County Commission passed an LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance only to see it vetoed by then Mayor Robert Reichert. Similar protections exist in 21 states and more than 300 municipalities nationwide (including 12 in Georgia). They are almost never vetoed because they just make common sense: No one should be left vulnerable to discrimination.
Across Georgia, polling shows that 65% of residents support protections like these, because people by and large understand that their friends, family members, and neighbors shouldn’t be evicted from their homes, denied service at businesses, or turned away from healthcare settings because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Unfortunately, Georgians lack these protections under state and federal law, so municipal level protections are critical, making the mayor’s veto all the more troubling.
Just before leaving office. Reichert didn’t just veto the ordinance. He also issued a pathetically ignorant statement that referred to LGBTQ people as “SOGI individuals” (an acronym for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity). He pushed unfounded and disproven myths manufactured by national anti-LGBTQ organizations. He denied thousands of LGBTQ residents the dignity and respect they deserve.
As a Black transgender woman in Georgia, I was angry and disappointed to see this action from Macon’s mayor. Nondiscrimination protections are designed to look after the most vulnerable people in our state – and folks who are both Black and LGBTQ face multiple layers of discrimination. Beyond extending concrete protections, nondiscrimination policies send a powerful message of inclusion and underline that everyone is welcome in our communities. Macon-Bibb County Commissioners wanted to send that message – but they were blocked by a mayor, who though on the way out of office caved to the pressures of extremists and the false narrative that LGBTQ protections threaten religious freedom.
In some ways, Reichart’s veto in Macon-Bibb County illuminates why we need to see federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans: It shouldn’t fall to every last city and town across our nation to do the right thing and pass protections. Federal legislation is pending right now – it just needs to pass the United States Senate.
Independent of the need for federal action, elected officials in Macon-Bibb County need to correct this recent grave misstep as soon as possible. I have so many friends and family members in Macon-Bibb County, and I know they are embarrassed by the mayor’s veto. In a year where other Georgia jurisdictions have advanced LGBTQ equality, their county went the other direction – and they know that’s not what Macon-Bibb resident’s want.
Robert Reichart is no longer our mayor, and it’s time for the new County Commissioners and our new Mayor, Lester Miller to fix this mess. It’s time for us to work toward local, state, and federal laws that ensure no one faces discrimination because of who they are. State and Federal legislators: It is time to act
Justine Ingram (she/her) is a native of Middle Georgia. She is currently CBA specialist for Southern AIDS Coalition, Program Manager for Trans Housing Atlanta Program, and a Board member for the Equality Foundation of Georgia.
This story was originally published January 31, 2021 at 7:00 AM.