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2016 Legislative Session

Scott Holcomb and Elena Parent standing up for rape victims

In a state like Georgia, progressive wins can seem too few and far between. But State Rep. Scott Holcomb and Sen. Elena Parent fought hard to address the state’s backlog of untested rape kits and they won, with the help of survivors, advocates, Samantha Bee and progressives like you. In 2016, it came to light that there was a breakdown in the process of handling rape kits, and thousands were left untested, stored in hospitals

Uncategorized

Even Unterman knows that Medicaid expansion is Georgia’s only option

Georgia State Sen. Renee Unterman is beginning to acknowledge that Medicaid expansion is a must if we’re going to get improved access to healthcare in Georgia. She says Georgia has few other options. “Well if you’re not going to expand Medicaid what are you going to do?” she rhetorically asked WABE. In the past, Unterman has opposed many progressive legislative goals such as the legalization of medical marijuana and a large number of women’s health

2016 Legislative Session

Unterman searching for right side of history on Medicaid

Have Georgia’s conservative lawmakers finally seen the light on Medicaid expansion? Maybe. Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) (the lawmaker who made national headlines for blocking a bill to test rape kits) has been speaking publicly about moving in the direction of Medicaid expansion. This is an issue that we’ve already dissected in-depth on this blog in an excellent post by Crystal Muñoz and it’s an issue progressives and businesses have championed for years. But Sen. Unterman’s pivot

Economy

Big Bucks for Anti-Abortion Centers that Bully Women

This past Tuesday, Gov. Deal signed a bill, which allows the state of Georgia to fund anti-abortion clinics, into law. Georgia has 70 anti-abortion “clinics,” however, only 40 are licensed to give medical care — and most of those don’t offer all of the services a pregnant woman needs. The sole purpose of these centers is to dissuade women from getting an abortion and they use a variety of tactics to do so. The people who

Better Georgia

Rare progressive victory in Georgia in form of rape kit bill

At the end of a day longer than most, I watched something from the state House gallery that I had never seen before: the entire body rising amid cheers and thunderous applause to congratulate a single lawmaker for passing a simple bill. By now you know the story: a bill submitted by Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) to clear the rape kit backlog had been stalled by Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), who argued that a law

Samantha Bee Takes Down Ga. Senator for Rape Kit Bill Blockade

On the TBS show Full Frontal this week, comedian Samantha Bee aimed her stinging political satire at Ga. Sen. Renee Unterman, who is blocking a rape kit bill that would help deliver justice for rape victims. The bill has unanimous, bi-partisan support in the House, but Unterman insists that we don’t need a the law “just because it makes you feel good.” You can watch the Samantha Bee clip here, but fair warning — some