The Importance of Standing Against Hate

This month marks the unfortunate anniversaries of the Emanuel AME Church Shooting in Charleston, South Carolina and the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. These two events are tragic reminders that extremist violence motivated by bigotry, and hatred towards specific communities continues to be a danger in our nation. At the same time this month we celebrate both Pride marking the Stonewall Riots and cause of LGBTQ+ rights and equality as well as Juneteenth marking the Emancipation Proclamation freeing African American slaves and in many ways starting the long slow march towards racial equality in our nation.

While there is no doubt there is more our lawmakers can do policy wise to prevent tragedies like Emanuel AME and the Pulse Nightclub shooting before they occur, these events are also stark reminders that we must be unwavering in our commitment to stand against hate and radicalism in our politics, and in our communities. It is easy to get carried away with the political outrage of the day, and begin to see our fellow Americans as the enemy, but our nation is strongest when we are working towards shared goals, and taking action to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Pride and Juneteenth stand in stark contrast to that hate and we should be embracing those celebrations while not forgetting the tragedies we have endured along the way.

As the next Gwinnett County Chair, I pledge to stand up for communities that have traditionally faced discrimination, including immigrants, people of color, the LGBT community, religious minorities, those with disabilities, our seniors, and our youth.

I will take action to ensure that all levels of county government and our law enforcement has inclusive policies and increased diversity that represent the needs and desires of everyone in the county. I will also work to protect and expand voting rights so that everyone can have a voice when it comes to choosing our leaders. I will be an advocate of gun violence prevention, and women’s rights, I will unequivocally support civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community, and I will always be ready on the frontline against hatred and extremism that threatens the safety and peace of our communities.

This week we also saw the news that disgraced County Commissioner Tommy Hunter is suing the county and expecting taxpayers to be on the hook for up to 5 Million dollars because he was publicly reprimanded by his own colleagues on the County Commission for hateful comments made about Georgia Congressman and Civil Rights hero John Lewis (along with vitriol directed towards Democrats and others). As an attorney, this lawsuit is a frivolous stunt, and as a citizen and taxpayer of Gwinnett County, I am shocked by the continued divisive, and inappropriate actions by Commissioner Hunter, he doesn’t deserve another dime of our taxpayer money after yet again damaging the reputation of our county.

However, this lawsuit is yet another reminder that we cannot back down in holding our leaders accountable when they spew hatred, and that is something I will never back down from doing. With your support, I know that we can make Gwinnett County a place where everyone feels welcome and secure. Let’s all take time to make sure we stand for the diversity that makes Gwinnett Great and head out to one of our county’s Juneteenth Celebrations (there’s one at Rhodes Park this Saturday) and Norcross’ first Pride Celebration on June 29th. Let’s be the change we seek.