District 117 Representative (R)
Office: 612-F Coverdell
(404) 656-0325
houston.gaines@house.ga.gov
houston@houstongaines.com
Houston’s Website
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Homophobia on Gaines’ leadership team during the 2018 election
Until June 14, 2018, Gaines’ leadership team included Joan Rhoden, president of the Conservative Republican Women of Northeast Georgia. She wrote a number of homophobic posts on Facebook on the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando. She was quickly removed from his campaign staff, but doubts still remain about Gaines’ position on LGBTQ rights.
Gaines has yet to support comprehensive civil rights legislation, even though Georgia is one of only a few states which do not provide legal protection for LGBTQ people.
Gaines has yet to denounce past efforts by the Georgia Legislature to pass “religious freedom” bills which essentially legalize discrimination.
Houston Gaines’ refusal to call hate speech what it is and to refer to it as a “distraction” instead of something worthy of condemnation is wrong. If he rejects hate speech and supports civil rights for LGBTQ people, he needs to say so publicly and unambiguously.
For more on this topic, check out the Project Q article here.