ATLANTA — Tributes have come in for the late Georgia House Speaker Rep. David Ralston – who died Wednesday after a lengthy illness. Some of the tributes to the conservative Republican leader have come from folks who have opposed conservative legislation.
While Ralston was undeniably conservative, he was also a quiet force in stopping anti-LGBTQ legislation introduced by his fellow conservatives, Executive director of Georgia Equality Jeff Graham said.
Earlier this year, a Republican-backed bill to disallow transgender athletes from competing in girl's sports passed the State Senate, despite objections from Democrats.
However, in the State House, Ralston didn't allow the anti-trans sports bill to ever get to the floor for a vote.
"Speaker Ralston had a great sense of fairness," said Graham, who lobbies on behalf of LGBTQ rights. "And I think that it really showed that a sense of fairness and conservative values are not necessarily oppositional to LGBTQ rights."
Graham also fought a House Bill that would limit gender-affirming medical treatments and surgery for trans youth, introduced by Republican state Rep. Ginny Ehrhart (R-Marietta). Ralston quietly used his power as speaker to simply never call the bill for a vote – allowing it to die when the legislative session ended.
Graham said no significant anti-LGBTQ legislation became state law while Ralston was speaker.
"He certainly was somebody who understood that faith and religion should not be used as a weapon and an excuse to not discriminate against other people," Graham said.
Graham said two north Georgia counties represented by Ralston's House seat – Fannin and Gilmer counties – have two of the highest percentages of same-sex couples of all 159 Georgia counties.
Graham said Ralston blocked anti-LGBTQ legislation at least in part because it would adversely impact his own constituents.