Residents Talk Progress and Challenges at Lisa Cupid's Pride Month Panel

MARIETTA — Nearly 30 years after Cobb County’s infamous anti-gay resolution, county Chairwoman Lisa Cupid hosted a discussion regarding the county’s LGBTQ+ community Thursday.

The discussion, held during Pride Month, reflected on how Cobb has become more accepting of LGBTQ+ people over the years, and the challenges they still face.

The forum discussion at the Cobb County Government building centered on issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community in Cobb, with a focus on transgender rights, inclusion and anti-discrimination laws.

Speakers included Kennesaw State University lecturer and Cupid’s former communications manager Christopher Thompson; LGBTQ+ rights activist Jon Greaves; Carol Brown, who documented pro- and anti- LGBTQ+ activities and legislation in the 1990s; Smyrna is Fabulous Executive Director Mike Mitchell; Cobb Chamber of Commerce Chief Operating Officer Dana Johnson; and Cobb resident and Learning Path, LLC founder Alicia Newton Hardnett.

“I want to learn and make sure that I’m being a good steward of ensuring that Cobb County is welcoming to everyone,” Cupid said.

Addressing Cobb’s Past

At the start of the forum, Cupid asked Greaves to share about Cobb’s history with anti-LGBTQ legislation and the Olympics Out of Cobb movement in the 1990s.

Greaves, who now volunteers with Georgia Equality and the Metro Atlanta HIV Planning Council, lived in the county throughout the 1980s, until he and his partner made the decision to leave due to concerns about their safety in 1993.

Greaves shared that the anti-gay sentiment came to a head in July of 1993, when Cobb Chairman Bill Byrne questioned funding for Marietta’s Theatre in the Square due to the plays “M. Butterfly” and “Lips Together, Teeth Apart.”

“Not much longer after that, I read that County Commissioner Gordon Wysong was going to introduce a resolution that gay people were against family values and our lifestyle was illegal and, reading between the lines, that we weren’t going to be welcome,” Greaves said.

Greaves and other local community members, including Carol Brown, immediately responded by organizing the Cobb Citizens Coalition to challenge the two resolutions.

Greaves shared his experiences on the coalition, including the time when someone left a bomb behind the stage while Greaves was speaking during the coalition’s rally on Marietta Square.

Because of national coverage of the events, the 1996 Olympic Committee decided to pull the Olympics out of Cobb County and bypass the area during the Olympic Torch Relay, he said. Cobb had initially been slated to host the women’s volleyball competition.

“I’ve tried to move past it but I will say, just like the chairwoman is pioneering this event, I felt really socially isolated here for a long time,” Brown said.

Moving Forward

After talking about the county’s history, Cupid opened up the discussion to ask the panel and audience if they felt the county had shown improvement.

“Cobb still has a stigma outside of (the county) around this issue,” Mitchell said. “Our history follows us for decades and centuries… and is not something we will shake easily.”

Mitchell shared that when he moved to Cobb in 2005, the county was still deeply enthralled in a “very scary” culture.

Since then, he believes the county has progressed, citing last weekend’s Smyrna Pride Festival, the second largest Pride festival in Georgia.

“We are six people in Cobb County who are working to change the narrative but there are hundreds, if not thousands more of us. And they’re doing the work on their streets and in their neighborhoods,” Mitchell said.

Both Greaves and Johnson agreed with Mitchell that the county is in a different place now, and it’s time for reconciliation.

Other audience members, however, shared that the county still had areas for improvement.

Noël Heatherland, Georgia Equality’s statewide outreach manager, shared that, as someone who identifies as a non-binary lesbian, they still feel hesitant being themselves in public, and often leave the county to get dinner.

Mitchell told Heatherland change starts with who you vote for, citing that by electing people like Mayor Derek Norton, Smyrna has proclaimed June Pride Month for four years in a row.

Mitchell said he brought the mayor data and showed him how much money the city was losing because LGBTQ+ residents were leaving Smyrna to eat, drink, party, hike and shop.

“That very much got the council’s attention,” Mitchell said. “Equality made a lot more sense when you saw the benefits.”

Johnson believes being visible in Cobb promotes inclusivity.

“I purposely go out to clubs and restaurants to make sure that they see that there are gay couples in this community,” Johnson said. “The best way you change hearts and minds is by being present.”

Cupid also welcomed Chris Fiore, chief communications officer for Marietta City Schools, who was in attendance with his husband.

“I’m very proud of the normalcy of my life (here in Cobb),” Fiore said.

Other community members shared their experiences being transgender or having children who identify as transgender.

One parent shared how their child was terrified to come out, as they didn’t feel comfortable at school.

Democrat JD Jordan, who is challenging state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, hadn’t planned to talk during the discussion, but did so after hearing the parent speak. Jordan was invited by Heatherland because two of his five children identify as transgender and were both minors when Senate Bill 140, which bans gender-affirming health care for youth, was passed.

“There was a point where our ability to parent our kids was being affected by legislation so we had to do something,” Jordan said. “The thing that was most encouraging was watching Chairwoman Cupid listening very actively and taking serious notes and promising to follow up, because the follow-up, that’s the immediate action.”

Many of the attendees and panelists shared their desires to see more support from the local government. Hardnett shared her shock that the state and county did not have a law prohibiting employment discrimination due to sexuality or gender identity.

“That’s what we need to be talking about,” Hardnett said.

Heatherland mentioned their desire to see a public statement issued by the county in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I would love to see some type of more public statement (of support) come forth in the same way that they would put out a resolution saying it’s not a place where we welcome people from the LGBTQ+ community,” Heatherland said.

Cupid admitted she couldn’t name any particular policies or resolutions the county has in place regarding LGBTQ+ acceptance.

“Which just (shows) that there’s opportunity here,” Cupid said. “I think we start with low-hanging fruit and the conversation has helped pinpoint that. I think recognizing Pride month is something that’s feasible to do as a county and perhaps go up from there.”