Cathy Woolard, shown here during her bid for Congress, said this week she would step aside as interim executive director of Georgia Equality after this legislative session. (File photo)
Bill to block state hate crimes law defeated Georgia Equality seeks new executive director
A bipartisan vote in a state House subcommittee tabled an act calling hate crimes laws “repugnant” on Feb. 5, effectively killing the bill.
House Bill 902, penned and pushed by Majority Whip Rep. Clay Cox (R-Lilburn), would have expunged the section of the Georgia hate crimes law struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2004. It included language that would preclude hate crime protections in Georgia.
The bill stated that “encouraging police to treat victims differently depending on whether they fit into a special status created by statute causes victims of similar crimes to be treated disparately, a concept repugnant to the Georgia and United States constitutions.”
During the hearing, Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) challenged Cox, according to Georgia Equality leaders attending the hearing. She cited examples of hate crimes and juries’ ability to easily discern them.
Neither Cox nor Cooper could be reached for comment by press time.
“There are a number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are ready to move on past attacking our community,” Georgia Equality Political Director Kyle Bailey said. Bailey said the organization has been working with Cooper and other lawmakers not specifically to kill this bill, but to raise awareness of hate crime legislation.
Last year a bill from state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) included both sexual orientation and gender identity as part of the definition of a hate crime. Fort’s bill made it out of the Senate Judiciary committee, but failed to reach the Senate floor.
“It really shouldn’t have been necessary,” Fort said of the House committee hearing. “But it validates that a hate crimes bill is a valid concept that needs to be explored and passed. “
Fort’s bill has been recommitted to the Judiciary Committee this year. He remains hopeful a hate crimes bill will reach the Senate floor, but said that decision must pass through the hands of Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), who chaired a panel exploring hate crime legislation over the summer.
“We really never reached a conclusion as to whether we should propose any new legislation or not,” Cowsert said. He is recommending a subcommittee to further study hate crime legislation.
“I think we can do it in a week if we can reach agreement,” Cowsert said. “Whether we can get it out of committee and to the Senate floor this year, I don’t know.”
Including sexual orientation and gender identity in any proposed legislation will likely bring opposition.
“I have heard some resistance to including that,” Cowsert said. “I don’t know how strong the opposition would be, but it is an issue.”
Georgia is one of five states — including Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming — without a hate crimes law. Alabama Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-Montgomery) has said he will introduce a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to that state’s hate crime laws this year.
Georgia Equality, the largest gay poltical group in the state, is looking for a new director after the interim director announced she is moving on.
Former Atlanta City Council President and Georgia Equality lobbyist Cathy Woolard has served as interim executive director for the organization since September 2007. The group has been without a permanent executive director since September 2006.
Woolard announced Feb. 4 she is taking the newly created position of executive vice president for global advocacy and external relations at CARE, the Atlanta-based humanitarian group.
Woolard, a former Peace Corps volunteer, said she originally planned on working for CARE as far back as college.
“I didn’t think it would take my being 50 years old to get there,” she said. “I feel like maybe I have had prepared my entire life for this chapter.”
Woolard’s leadership was a main reason the Georgia Equality boards put off looking for a full-time director, said Ronald Moore, chair of the group's political board.
“Certainly her departure affected the timing of our search,” he said.
Woolard will stay as lobbyist and director throughout the remainder of legislative session to ease the transition. She is scheduled to start with CARE on April 1.
“We’re in the midst of the legislative session, and the crux of our mission is to affect the legislators' agenda, and this way someone can come in after the session and really start to set things up,” Moore said.
Applications for the executive director position are due by Feb. 25. While Moore said board members might have a few candidates in mind, it is a wide-open job search. The ideal director will have connections in Georgia outside Atlanta to better help the organization grow, a strong fundraising record and experience with state legislatures, he said.
In an attempt to spread across the state, Georgia Equality is organizing house parties on Feb. 12 in cities like Carrollton and Hiawassee to discuss gay issues. The idea is these house parties will help to grow the group’s contacts into rural areas.
“We’re trying to really try and grow a statewide organization, and I don’t think Georgia Equality has had that for a while,” Bailey said. “In places that are in smaller communities, more conservative areas, we still want to connect with people in those areas.”
The group has 14 house parties scheduled, 11 outside of Atlanta, and actively seeks more. Georgia Equality is looking for hosts in Macon, Albany, Rome and Cobb County.
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