GA Ranks Among Lowest In US For Basic LGBTQ+ Equality: Report

ACROSS GEORGIA — Georgia is one of more than two dozen states where LGBTQ+ residents remain at risk for discrimination due to the lack of statutory protections, according to a new State Equality Index report released Monday by the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Federation Institute.

In the SEI report released Monday, Georgia was placed in the "High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality" category, and was joined by 24 other states that scored lowest in the nation in its assessment of statewide LGBTQ+ legislation and policies in numerous areas, including parenting laws and policies, non-discrimination laws and policies, hate crime and criminal justice laws.

Georgia does not prohibit discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in housing, employment, public accommodations, school anti-bullying, education, transgender health care, and gender marker updates on identification documents, and does not have restrictions on conversion therapy, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The state partially protects against hate crimes, the report said, as Georgia has a law that addresses hate or bias crimes based on sexual orientation only — but it does not protect on the basis of gender identity.

• The other states that joined Georgia in this low ranking are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming.

• "Working Toward Innovative Equality" is the highest ranking in the SEI categories: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington fall in this category.
• Two states are in the category "Solidifying Equality": Iowa and Virginia.
• Four states are in the category "Building Equality": Kansas, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, in 2020, 185 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced by 35 states, while four were passed into law. The SEI report's release comes as more than 40 state legislatures and the District of Columbia have opened their 2021 sessions, including Georgia.