The Mayor of Atlanta urged state legislators on Monday to push bills that honor same-sex marriages performed outside of Georgia.
Mayor Kasim Reed's request is one of the most important first steps toward LGBT rights in the state, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"I'm prepared to wear as many hats as it takes to end marriage discrimination at all levels of government and particularly, in Georgia," Reed announced during a marriage equality event called Freedom to Marry. "...No gay person should be prevented from marrying the person they love and protecting their family in the state they call home."
Reed spoke at Monday's event - a meeting that kicked off a $1 million campaign for same-sex marriage activism in the South.
Reed announced that he's trying to lift Georgia's ban on gay marriage in the state, and will link with legislators to write a bill that honors marriages performed in other states.
Founder of advocacy group Freedom to Marry Evan Wolfson also spoke at the event, along with a slew of families and activists. Wolfson gave details on the campaign, which hopes to bolster support for LGBT unions through organized events, advertisements and social media action.
"For too long, the conversation has come from other parts of the country that have moved forward faster," Wolfson told the crowd of people packed into the conference room on Monday. "Now, in the South, there is a great determination on the part of many other people, including non-gay people here, who understand now is the time for the South to speak up and for voices to be heard."
Reed admitted that his publicized support of LGBT marriage in 2012 came a little late.
"I was slow moving from recognizing civil unions to marriage equality," the mayor stated. "My grandfather was a minister and I grew up in a household that was pretty religious and I consider myself pretty religious and I had some struggles...but think of where we've come in 10 years."
