LGBTQ history in Georgia (U.S. state)
[3] Ultimately, however, as a larger number of states repealed their sodomy laws through judicial or legislative action, Georgia was one of the last to do so.In 1974, local activist Bill Smith founded the Atlanta Barb, the state's first gay newspaper.In 1978, the Southern Baptist Convention's hosting of a speaking engagement by anti-gay activist Anita Bryant at the Georgia World Congress center drew a rally of over 4,000.In the years since, legal victories for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of Georgia have been few and far between, while historic firsts have taken place more frequently outside of the Atlanta metropolitan area.In 2010, Simone Bell became the first openly lesbian African American woman to be elected to the Georgia General Assembly.On December 6, 2007, the city-county government of Athens, Georgia, legalized health benefits for unmarried domestic partners.