Photo Credit: Georgia Unites Against Discrimination

On February 19, 2016, the Georgia State Senate voted to advance House Bill 757, a bill that combines the “First Amendment Defense Act” (FADA) and the “Pastor Protection Act.” If passed, HB 757, often referred to as FADA, would legally protect Georgians who wish to discriminate against LGBT people based on their religious beliefs. The status of the bill is still pending, as FADA has been sent back to the Georgia House of Representatives for a reconciliation vote. But Georgians and LGBT activists are not idly standing by. The crowd of LGBT activists, celebrities, clergy, and companies that have condemned FADA has been getting even bigger in the past few weeks with voices such as Delta, Virgin Group, and even the Governor of Georgia uniting in the fight against this harmful anti-LGBT bill.

On Wednesday March 2, 2016 representatives from Georgia Unites Against Discrimination, Georgia Equality, Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal printed, boxed, and delivered 75,000 letters that expressed disapproval of the “First Amendment Defense Act” to Governor Nathan Deal’s office in Atlanta.

.@LambdaLegal SE Regional Dir. @SimoneLoves Bell: Bills like #FADA encourage discrimination and invite litigation. pic.twitter.com/x8VMNOQWir

— Georgia Unites (@GeorgiaUnites) March 2, 2016

The following day, Gov. Deal made a biblical case against FADA as a “religious freedom bill,” saying, “we do not have a belief in my way of looking at religion that says that we have to discriminate against anybody.” He went on to express his hope that everyone can “take a deep breath, realize that the world is changing around us and recognize that it is important that we protect fundamental religious beliefs but we don’t have to discriminate against other people in order to do that.”

Gov. Deal’s stance against discrimination has been called a strong warning to legislatures to vote against FADA in its current form. Georgia Unites and Delta Airlines applauded and thanked Gov. Deal for his support and leadership on twitter. Other companies and organizations such as Salesforce, Unilever, Dell, Porsche, Home Depot, AT&T and more have also recently voiced their rejection of FADA and discrimination against LGBT people based on religious belief.

After fierce pushback from biz’s & 75K+ Georgians, @GovernorDeal draws the line on #FADA. t.co/XV2lshzBn1 pic.twitter.com/J4AoNRL62Q

— Georgia Unites (@GeorgiaUnites) March 3, 2016

Airline titan @Delta joins 400+ cos urging lawmakers to keep discrimination out of #Georgia. t.co/kDsGrC1wse pic.twitter.com/50amMFlN7i

— Georgia Unites (@GeorgiaUnites) March 7, 2016

Thank you CEOs of @dell @Virgin @Unilever @CocaCola @Delta @HomeDepot @UPS for fighting discrimination in GA! t.co/84tZWcVkhJ

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) February 27, 2016

ICYMI: @salesforce submits official letter opposing anti-#LGBT #FADA style bills: t.co/QqUQ7reUjU #GApol pic.twitter.com/ojD7FHeLw6

— Georgia Unites (@GeorgiaUnites) March 4, 2016

Georgia must stop discrimination in the name of religious freedom t.co/E9R9ueejJr

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 27, 2016

Twitter joins list of businesses opposed to Georgia ‘religious liberty’ bill t.co/0VlFpOeozi by @asheinin

— Policy (@policy) March 1, 2016

Awesome profile of 15 cos leading the fight to end #LGBT discrimination in #GA incl. @twitter @HomeDepot & @Porsche! t.co/3JpgTn5Unb

— Georgia Unites (@GeorgiaUnites) March 5, 2016

Although the House has yet to return to HB 757, House Speaker David Ralston has expressed that the House is wary of passing a “religious freedom bill” that gives way to discrimination. Follow Georgia Unites on Twitter to keep up with FADA advancements, and see Georgia Equality and Georgia Unites to see how you can contribute to the fight against discrimination.

Photo Credit: GLAAD

Today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is signing an executive order requiring all city agencies to ensure that their employees and members of the public have access to bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity or expression. The executive order stipulates that no one will be required to show identification, medical documents, or any other documentation to verify their gender.

“No one should have to face fear, intimidation, or harassment when simply trying to use the bathroom,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO of GLAAD. “New York City is once again leading by example, making sure that every person can go to the restroom with dignity and peace. GLAAD applauds Mayor de Blasio’s ongoing commitment to protecting LGBT New Yorkers, which is raising the bar for inclusion in cities across the nation.”

City agencies are required to post this new policy on sex-segregated facilities in conspicuous locations for employees and members of the public to see within three months. The executive order also includes training requirements for city agency managers and frontline staff.

A bill that is pending before the city council would require public single-occupancy restrooms in both public and private buildings to be gender-neutral. New York City Human Rights Law has included protections based on gender identity and expression since 2002, and recent enforcement guidance issued by the NYC Commission on Human Rights states that denying access to bathrooms and other facilities based on gender identity is a violation of NYC Human Rights law.