On  February 3, the Clarkston City Council voted unanimously in favor of a bill that would protect city employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill passed, in large part, due to the efforts of the Georgia state legislator Karla Drenner, Lamda Legal Transgender rights attorney Cale Thaler, and Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham. Drenner, the only openly gay member of Georgia’s General Assembly and a former Victory Fund endorsee, has been lobbying all the towns in her district to include similar protections for city employees.

The Southern Voice Reports:

State Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) had discussions with every council member about sexual orientation and gender identity prior to the vote, and there was no public discussion of the gay and transgender protections at the Feb. 3 meeting.

Graham said Doraville and Clarkston are part of a larger campaign to extend protections to gay and transgender workers in municipalities throughout Georgia

“It really is starting in the metro area, making sure we’ve got common language, making sure we’ve got a good understanding with local politicians, and then we’ll start expanding into other areas of the state,” Graham said.