NEWS BRIEF: Atlanta City Council makes former inmates a protected class
‘We all are human beings’
Atlanta City Council’s Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee on Monday voted in favor of adopting a measure to establish formerly incarcerated people as a protected class. The bill was propagated by Barred Business, an advocate for ex-prisoners. “With this vote, the City of Atlanta is taking the first step in recognizing that we all are human beings,” said Bridgette Simpson, the group’s executive director, adding that people who are out of prison “have the right to move on from the sentences we served.”
In a statement, the organization said, “Harm and violence are continually perpetuated when justice-impacted people cannot work, find housing or provide for themselves, which is the reality for thousands of people in Atlanta and across the state.” Details: barredbusiness.org