About 150 people recently attended a “Rise of the Rainbow Economy,” a summit hosted by the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor, spoke but it was Democratic attorney general nominee Charlie Bailey who made news with startling promises that haven’t been reported in the mainstream media.
The moderator asked the candidates if they would support a statewide “LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination law” and whether they opposed anti-LGBTQ “religious freedom” bills. The gay publication Q Magazine reported that Abrams and Bailey and other candidates in attendance answered yes to both questions.
Bailey, a former Fulton County assistant district attorney, was also asked how he would support the state’s LGBTQ community if elected attorney general. He has a plan, he replied, if a “religious freedom” bill becomes law and is later challenged in court. “The great thing about this position and me is that I’ll just refuse to defend it,” Bailey is quoted as saying by Q Magazine. “And not only will I refuse to defend it, I’ll instruct my assistant attorneys general to file amicus briefs on behalf of the plaintiffs that are challenging the constitutionality of the legislation.”
“I can write a legal opinion about whatever I feel like when I wake up in the morning,” he is further quoted as saying. “So, if there’s even discussion about any discriminatory laws, then I will write a legal opinion from the office of the attorney general as the official opinion of the state of Georgia saying that’s not what we do here.”
Abrams later singled out Bailey for praise during a post-event photo-op, declaring her Democrat colleague would be “an extraordinary attorney general who can sue the Trump administration every Thursday.”
Q Magazine also reported that Richard Keatley told the left-leaning audience that, if elected labor commissioner, he would form LGBTQ-inclusive advisory panels and make sure people are aware of a hotline they can use to report if they’ve been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
