ATLANTA, GEORGIA – After yesterday’s close of the Georgia legislature, CASA Georgia State Director Luis Zaldivar issued the following statement.

“With the end of the legislative session in Georgia it has become clear that Governor Brian Kemp and his allies were more focused on the next election than the people of Georgia. By focusing most of their energy on campaign stunts, such as passing legislation prohibiting ‘free speech zones’ in college campuses, legislation censoring discussions of race in the classroom and including transphobic language for athletic participation, the majority hopes to energize their base in November after four years of economic stagnation and a disastrous public health management record.

“However, progressive advocates working in the capitol for the last three months were able to thwart a big portion of the governor’s agenda, such as anti-protest legislation, cash bail mandates, further abortion restrictions, bigger parts of the anti-voting legislation sponsored by the extreme right wing. Earlier in the process immigrant organizations and allies were effective in stopping xenophobic legislation targetting our communities directly, including an egregious attempt to include specific anti-immigrant wording in the constitution. While the current legislative map does not allow for optimism, the hard work of the groups part of all these coalitions has shown to be the main line of defense against the extremist agenda that has taken over the Republican party.

“With the legislative session behind us, CASA is committed to spending the rest of the year building relationships with legislators to work on policies that would benefit working families and collaborating with coalition partners to uplift the needs of our communities.”