In Closing Days of Session, Health Care Bans & Anti-Trans Sports Bans Advance as Other Critical Bills Languish As the Georgia legislature prepares to gavel out one week from today on April 4, 2025, anti-equality majorities in the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Senate have begun mov ing forward four dangerous bills that threaten LGBTQ+ Georgians. Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, is calling attention to this “Slate of Hate” – a bundle of draconian anti-LGBTQ+ bills that threaten transgender and non-binary people’s access to best-practice health care & could give a “license to discriminate” against LGBTQ+ people to employers, health care providers, and many more individuals across Georgia. “Georgians have real, pressing needs that are going unmet by their elected officials while they waste what little time is left in session jamming through bills that no one asked for and serve no purpose other than send the message that LGBTQ+ people are not welcome here,” said Bentley Hudgins, Georgia State Director for the Human Rights Campaign. “Session after session, wiser minds won in Atlanta as the most extreme bills targeting our communities were kept from the floor. Now, all bets are off. It’s critical that every LGBTQ+ person and every ally make their voices heard with their Representative and Senator to stop this slate of hate.” Georgia’s “Slate of Hate” consists of four bills: SB 1 – Anti-Transgender Bathroom & Sports Ban If enacted as amended, SB 1 would effectively ban trans and non-binary youth of all ages from playing school sports and ban trans & non-binary students from safely using bathrooms & locker rooms at school. Not only is this bill discriminatory and unconstitutional, but it also deprives transgender youth of their right to access education because when you can’t use the school restroom safely, you can’t learn. Political attacks on transgender youth generally, and trans student athletes specifically, are fueled by discrimination, not facts. Blanket bans on transgender youth participation make life harder for all kids,  emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look. They can even expose children to invasive, inappropriate questions and examinations. SB 30 – Anti-Trans Health Care Ban for Minors Despite overwhelming evidence and the support of the nation’s largest health organizations, SB 30 would make it much more difficult – if not impossible in practice – for transgender youth to access the health care that their doctors and their parents agree they need. No parent should ever be put in the position where they and their doctor agree on one course of action, supported by the overwhelming majority of medical experts, but the government forbids it. SB 36 – “License to Discriminate” Bill Under the guise of religious freedom, this bill could lead to LGBTQ+ Georgians being turned away from businesses, denied housing, or refused service by government officials SB 36 is extremely broad and would extend far beyond allowing discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. Similar laws have been used to stop an investigation into child labor law abuse, limit access to birth control, and justify the kidnapping of a child. The Georgia and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce recently announced strong opposition to SB 36, saying it “would undermine the state’s strong reputation we have built together” and harm businesses. SB 39 – Anti-Trans Health Care Ban for State Health Plans SB 39 bans best-practice medical care for trans & non-binary people of any age who rely on the state for health insurance – including state employees as well as members of their family. Health care for transgender people is just that – health care. In many cases, the care transgender people receive is the same as people who are not transgender – just for a different reason. Therefore, forbidding this kind of health care from someone for no reason other than that they are transgender is discrimination. Period.   The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. The post ‘SLATE OF HATE’: Anti-Equality Georgia Legislative Majority Tries to Jam Four Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills Into Law as Session Expires  appeared first on Atlanta Daily World. ...read more read less