ATHENS AND THE GLBT COMMUNITY
Athens has a long history as one of the most gay-friendly towns in Georgia. In the 2004 state vote on the anti-gay marriage amendment, for instance, 48 percent of Clarke County voters rejected the amendment, a far higher percentage than any other county in the state, even those in metro Atlanta.
GLOBES invites representatives and candidates to meet with the gay community at its annual fall reception, and many attend. See the front of Friends and Family for a letter of support from Athens-Clarke County Mayor Heidi Davison.
ABOUT ATHENS
Athens is located in Northeast Georgia, about 70 miles from Atlanta (see map). The population, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, is 100,266. Voters approved joining the county and city governments in 1990, forming the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County. Clarke County is the smallest county in Georgia in land area but is the fourteenth most populous.
For more information about Athens-Clarke County, consult these links:
- Wikipedia's entry on Athens
- Georgia Department of Community Affairs Snapshot, where you can select a county and download information
- Flagpole, a locally owned alternative weekly
- Online Athens, the web site of the Athens Banner-Herald, the daily newspaper here
- The Red and Black, the independent student newspaper of UGA
- WUGA, the local public radio station, a unit of UGA