On the second Saturday in October, during National Coming Out Day, East’s Joe’s Coffee Shop was filled with the aroma of espresso and the low hum of conversation from morning until afternoon. atlanta village. At a table in the corner, state Rep. Carla Drenner greeted some familiar faces and discussed what it means to stand out and keep showing up.
Stay up to date LGBTQ+ News and Politics. Sign up for The Advocate’s email newsletter.
“I didn’t run to be first,” she said. defender In an interview at a cafe. “I ran to be a good representative.”
When Drenner, now 64, was first elected in 2000, she made history as the first president of the United States. LGBTQ+ A person elected to a state legislature in the southern United States. a Democratic Party The district, which represents part of DeKalb County, has 27 Baptist churches and is nearly 80 percent black, she noted. She is currently in her 13th term; Georgia’s Longest serving LGBTQ+ elected official.
Related: Human Rights Campaign calls on LGBTQ+ community to dream and fight for equality at national dinner
“They said I didn’t deserve to be known.”
Drenner had come to join the rally when the coffee shop filled with a late morning crowd. human rights campaign While in Atlanta on the organization’s American Dreams storytelling tour, he recalled a time early in his political career when someone told him he didn’t deserve to be known. It was a line that stuck in her heart. It was also a reminder of how transparency once defined public life for LGBTQ+ people in Georgia.
she said defender Years after that rejection, one of her former colleagues asked her to apologize, she said. “He said, ‘I decided you weren’t worth knowing.’ He had been watching me for years, and then one day he told me he was wrong,” she added.
Drenner said the apology reminded her of why her presence is important. “That moment really changed me,” she said. “I am reminded that by participating every day, we not only change laws, but also hearts. We can turn adversaries into partners.”
She also said she did not come out publicly by choice. “I was just running and all of a sudden I was there.” washington post and new york times” she said, explaining that after the first election, national media coverage effectively exposed her as a lesbian. new york times profiled In an article titled “Georgia’s Gay Lawmaker at the Center of the Storm,” she reported that she had become an unexpected symbol in a state whose proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage had garnered national attention.
2002 washington post profile described her as “a novelty and a model” who is not accustomed to openly gay representation.
Drenner’s voice softens as she remembers how lonely those early days were. “I felt the stares and the whispers,” she said. “There were days when people would ride in the elevator next to me instead of riding with me.” Still, she refused to disappear. “If I had stayed home, my absence would have been a silent form of resistance. So I kept showing up.”
Looking back on his 25 years under the Gold Dome, Drenner said his early days in office taught him how to tolerate being treated as an outsider. “My experience of people not wanting to know about me is probably small in comparison.” transformer People are feeling it today,” she said. defender Because she expressed respect for the pioneers, Delaware Democratic Congresswoman Sarah McBride is the first transgender person to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. “Times have changed for certain segments of the gay community, and transgender people are now the whipping post for the gay community. religious right. “
Related: Ts Madison says President Donald Trump and his transphobic regime should ‘pack their bags’
She said she has opposed every anti-trans bill that passed the floor in the past four Congresses. Some of the bills were so sweeping that they sought to change dozens of sections of Georgia. law. “They are willing to go to such lengths to exclude transgender people from society,” she said.
From 2023 onwards American Civil Liberties Union tracked 32 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Georgia. Across the country in 2025 alone, the ACLU is tracking more than 610 bills targeting gay and transgender people, including 13 in Georgia.
Related: Inside the fight against Trump in red states: It’s not just a matter of pride. It’s a matter of power.”
Drenner sees parallels between the skepticism she faced and what transgender lawmakers are currently experiencing. “Change doesn’t happen overnight,” she said. “It’s one person at a time, one story at a time.”
southern complexity
Born in Charleston, west virginiaDrenner earned degrees in health physics, environmental science, and public policy. She teaches environmental health science and public policy and serves on several committees in the Georgia House of Representatives, including Energy, Utilities, Telecommunications, and Small Business Development.
Related: Muslim lawmaker running for governor says Georgia deserves a leader who rejects transgender scapegoating
Her story complicates speculation about Southern politics. “People think you can’t win in a southern state even if you’re gay,” she says. “But I’ve been representing this community for 25 years. Preaching may be against me, but that doesn’t stop me from showing up.”
She has seen progress emerge in unexpected places. “If it can happen in the South, if it can happen in the South, it can happen in this country,” she said.
Lessons learned from a quarter century of office work
When she entered the Georgia House, Drenner was part of the majority working across the aisle. “We were sitting next to people from different political parties,” she recalls. “Now our offices are completely partisan. We’ve lost touch.”
Still, she finds moments of grace. After the split vote, some members privately asked her to apologize. “It’s almost like they’re looking for redemption,” she says. “I once sat next to Tea Party Republicans, and I came to respect them because of their conscience-based beliefs. I didn’t change their minds on social issues, but I liked them as people.”
Related: Powerful civil rights groups are activating and expanding into red states. The reason is as follows
Drenner remains mindful of the history that preceded her. “I wasn’t outside when I ran,” she said. “I won and then all of a sudden I lost. My generation was Baptist. We practiced shame.”
Coming out is more common now, she said, but the movement risks losing touch with its roots if history is forgotten. “We need to look back at our fundamental heroes,” she said, adding: vermont state Congressman Bill Lippert said: marriage equality“These early pioneers are the rocks of our movement. We stand on their shoulders,” said the state legislator, who served for 28 years before retiring in 2022.
Advice for future politicians
When asked what she tells others about her path as inspiration, Drenner laughs. “As long as you’re not against me, I’m with you,” she joked. Then she turned serious and said, “No one asked me to run. You don’t need permission to chase your dreams. You may not win, but that doesn’t mean your efforts will be diminished. Believe in yourself first.”
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
