[3] Ultimately, however, as a larger number of states repealed their sodomy laws through judicial or legislative action, Georgia was one of the last to do so.
In 1974, local activist Bill Smith founded the Atlanta Barb, the state's first gay newspaper.
In 1978, the Southern Baptist Convention's hosting of a speaking engagement by anti-gay activist Anita Bryant at the Georgia World Congress center drew a rally of over 4,000.
In 1997, Cathy Woolard became the first openly gay politician elected to the Atlanta city council.
In the years since, legal victories for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of Georgia have been few and far between, while historic firsts have taken place more frequently outside of the Atlanta metropolitan area.
In 2005, Wesley Chenault opened an exhibit titled The Unspoken Past: Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History, 1940–1970.
In 2010, Simone Bell became the first openly lesbian African American woman to be elected to the Georgia General Assembly.
On December 6, 2007, the city-county government of Athens, Georgia, legalized health benefits for unmarried domestic partners.