Georgia's legislative session has officially come to an end, and we are reflecting on our hard-fought three months of advocacy that focused on protecting some of the most vulnerable communities in the state. We advocated against a slew of bills that mirrored the extreme measures coming from the White House. Now that the dust is settling, we are thrilled to share our victories and deep gratitude to those who answered our call to fight for democracy.
The ACLU of Georgia Policy and Advocacy team gave testimony, negotiated, rallied supporters to take action through letter-writing and email campaigns, and amplified our messages at press conferences and other events to support Georgians' civil liberties and rights. Amid unheralded attacks on First Amendment protections, transgender communities, reproductive freedoms, voting rights, and consumer data privacy, we fended off many of these attacks and recorded some wins.
"We fought at the Gold Dome to block MAGA bills from becoming laws in Georgia. The ACLU has seen these attempts to diminish our rights before and we have a strategy to keep fighting," said Executive Director Andrea Young. "The power of the people is greater than the people in power."
Throughout the session, we hit some impressive benchmarks.
With your help, we left an undeniable mark with the legislature this year — from advocacy with coalition partners and sharing our stances at press conferences to bringing in support from community members and monitoring actions at the Gold Dome with capitol observers.
The numbers:
- 5 press conferences advocating for increased healthcare access and civil rights
- 20 times the ACLU of Georgia gave testimony before legislative committees
- 23 new legal observers trained
- 69 signatories on a letter for a Georgia Civil Rights Act
- 150 hours of legal observation at the Capitol
- 636 messages delivered to lawmakers
- 700 people mobilized at the Capitol for our Georgia Civil Rights Lobby Day and Sine Die Block Party
- 28,000 people participated in the Hands-Off Protest that we planned with coalition partners
Bills we helped defeat
- Attacks on First Amendment rights – defeated bills that restrict free speech and access to information, and bills that threaten the separation of church and state.
- Removal of DEI – joined legislators and coalition partners in the effort to defeat legislation that undercut diversity, equity, and inclusion while supporting measures for comprehensive civil rights.
- Limits on healthcare and bodily autonomy – defeated a bill that called for a total abortion ban, and another that would have enabled far-reaching discrimination against transgender and non-binary people.
- Loosening of data privacy protections – defeated a bill that exempted large corporations from protecting the personal information of Georgia consumers.
- Hurdles to voter access – defeated bills that made it harder to vote by restricting the hand delivery of absentee ballots to county election boards the weekend before Election Day.
How life in Georgia will be negatively impacted from bills passed
- Ban on school sports for trans girls – transgender girls and women can only play on sports teams that align with the gender on their birth certificate or not play sports at all in public schools.
- Dangerous change in healthcare for incarcerated transgender people – transgender people who are incarcerated by the state of Georgia can no longer access gender-affirming care.
- License to discriminate – The so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act opens the door to discrimination against vulnerable Georgians.
What's ahead
The clock is ticking for Governor Kemp to veto or sign bills into law by May 14. The new laws will go into effect July 1.
Legislative study committees will meet between now and the next Session. The ACLU of Georgia supports the Senate Civil Rights Protections Study Committee, led by Senator Sonya Halpern. The committee will examine the needs and legal framework for enacting civil rights protections in Georgia.
Follow our social media accounts @acluofga, and keep an eye out for upcoming events and action alerts you can send to Governor Kemp, encouraging him to veto bills aimed at attacking the trans community in Georgia.
The 2025 Legislative Session ended with civil rights and liberties on top, but we will face many of the same fights in 2026. While we give a collective sigh of relief, we are preparing for what's to come. Now is not the time to let up – our rights are still on the line!
