; Whereas, by 1981, the HIV/AIDS crisis had come to the forefront of national attention partly due to the work of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to study and treat the disease; Whereas, in 1983, AID Atlanta was formed as an educational and service organization to educate people on the realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and provide support for those suffering from the disease; Whereas, throughout the epidemic, gay individuals in Georgia faced large-scale discrimination and bigotry; Whereas, in 1983, the Atlanta Campaign for Human Rights was founded, the legacy of that organization is now carried on by Georgia Equality, with a mission to advance fairness, safety, and opportunities for LGBTQ+ communities across the State; Whereas, in 1984, the Atlanta city government declared the city’s first Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Day ; Whereas, in 1985, Congregation Bet Haverim opened as Georgia’s first LGBTQ+ welcoming synagogue, to serve the expansive interests of the State’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community; Whereas, in 1986, a challenge to Georgia’s repressive laws criminalizing same-sex relations in Bowers v. Hardwick reached the Supreme Court; Whereas, in 1988, Southern Voice, an LGBTQ+ newspaper dedicated to serving the community through breaking news and thoughtful analysis, was founded in Atlanta; Whereas, in 1988, then-Mayor Maynard Jackson became the first Atlanta mayor to attend an LGBTQ+ pride event; Whereas the 1990s saw a rapid influx of LGBTQ+ individuals into Atlanta in search of acceptance, understanding, diversity, and equality; Whereas, in 1997, a domestic terrorist injured five people by bombing the Otherside Lounge, a lesbian bar in Atlanta; Whereas, in 1997, Cathy Woolard became the first openly gay individual elected in Georgia, as a member of the Atlanta City Council; Whereas, in 1998, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down State law prohibiting same-sex relations as unconstitutional