Just over two months into his tenure as executive director of Georgia Equality,
Chuck Bowen is preparing to lead the statewide gay rights group into the 2005
legislative session.
Despite Republican control of both chambers of the increasingly conservative
General Assembly, Bowen said Georgia Equality is planning to pursue pro-gay
legislation, including a bill that would give hospital visitation and inheritance
rights to couples registered with the state.
Bowen also hopes to see Atlanta gay activists morph from being outsiders protesting
on the street to decision makers influencing policy in board and committee rooms.
Yes. The conservatives are convinced
that they have a mandate from the citizens of Georgia to define family values
in accordance with their perception of so called mainstream society. Anyone
who doesn’t fit this perception, such as LGBT people, single mothers,
kids with two parents of the same sex and people of color are to have their
rights as Americans curtailed under this very narrow and unrealistic view.
I am going to recommend that we have
not just one lobbyist, but several. With the Republicans in control we must
make sure that our lobbyists have access to those in power. We also are looking
at lobbyists who may specialize in certain issues such as health, legal matters
including adoption and home rule. In addition, I will be registering as a lobbyist
for Georgia Equality and expect to spend a fair amount of my time in the State
House. As you know, my background includes extensive lobbying.
No decision has been made as to who the lobbyists will be and what their compensation
will be. The priority will be to defend the current rights of gays and lesbians
and to support a new hate crimes bill.
I am firmly convinced that equality
for us will happen in the board rooms and the committee rooms. We must move
away from being queer-centric and assume leadership positions throughout the
greater community. This means recruiting candidates to run for office at every
level and providing accurate and factual information to our elected officials.
The days of marches and demands have lost their effectiveness. In order to stand
out we must first fit in.
Gays and lesbians in large have chosen
to victimize ourselves. We feel a sense of entitlement because we have been
make victims by society. When the General Assembly convenes next week, we intend
to be victors and not victims. We intend to hold many of the elected officials
accountable who said that our relationships should be recognized to a certain
extent, but not as marriage under the law.
We are preparing to submit a bill similar to the one in the state of Utah,
which would grant spousal privileges to domestic partners in settings such as
hospitals and nursing homes. The bill also allows for the right of survivorship
so that upon the death of one partner, the surviving partner has full rights
to joint property without interference.
Last week I sent a letter to every member
of the Georgia General Assembly pledging to work with them whenever possible
in hoping that they will look to Georgia Equality as the leading expert for
LGBT issues.
In the letter I also said that I knew that there would be times when we would
not be able to agree, but that I look forward to finding common ground whenever
possible. We have no intention of navigating around the leadership, but instead,
seeking their support on issues when possible.
We do not have a “gay agenda.”
What we do have is one very simple goal – equality. This means equality
for every lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender person in our city. We have
reached out to the transgender community and asked that they take a more active
role in Georgia Equality. We have also placed a high priority on involving people
of color, including African Americans, Latinos and Asians.
