Democratic Party of Georgia 2024 Platform

PREAMBLE 

We, the Democratic Party of Georgia, are united in our core values. This platform document guides our beliefs with the ultimate vision of a more just, prosperous, and inclusive society. We are pursuing a society free from prejudice and discrimination in all forms, including: race, national origin, ethnicity, religious affiliation or lack thereof, disability, sex, gender identity, age, and/or sexual orientation. All people of Georgia should have freedom and equal opportunity for an ever-improving quality of education, health, safety, and economic prosperity. Our principles of fairness, equity, inclusion, affordability, and accessibility guide our policies and platform. These fundamental planks are economic security, education, healthcare, environment, agriculture, public safety, justice, integrity in governance, housing, and veterans affairs. In unity, we are committed to the principles put forth, guided by diversity, compassion for others, and a firm belief in the spirit of democracy. Our state party commits to being adaptable while relying on experts in our society who help us make evidence-based decisions. The Democratic Party of Georgia shall incorporate the principles of the Georgia motto: wisdom through legislation, justice in our judicial system, and moderation in our executive branch. We invite others who share our vision to join us in the tireless work to create the equitable society outlined in this document.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is Georgia’s number one industry, and is a crucial source of economic prosperity as well as a cornerstone of the culture of many communities throughout our state.  We have the utmost respect for the family farmers who are the backbone of their communities. The field of agriculture has not always benefited Georgians equally: the racist legacies of slavery and sharecropping, and modern-day issues, such as food deserts, worker abuse, and unequal access to capital, have left vulnerable populations behind. Celebrating agricultural heritage means fighting to ensure agriculture works for everyone in Georgia. 

INDUSTRY AND AGRITOURISM 

Many of Georgia’s agricultural products are renowned throughout the country and the world for their outstanding quality and taste. Many of our local agritourism destinations are the backbones of their local economies as well as foundational to the culture of their communities. The DPG will work to protect these partners who continue to expand our state’s agricultural heritage into the future.  

• Promote Georgia’s signature crops to local, domestic, and international audiences. 
• Work with local development authorities to promote agritourism in our communities. 
• Support local alcohol producers (beer, wine, and spirits) by reforming laws that benefit distributors at the expense of small-scale producers. 

SMALL FARMERS

Georgia’s growers are some of the best in the world, but they struggle with selling into monopolistic food systems with high debt loads and unfair restrictions. Strong local food systems require strong family farms. The small farmer lives closest to their communities and will be the best stewards of the land and environment. The DPG is committed to protecting small farmers throughout the state.  

• Expand access to sources of financing for small farmers. 
• Reform Georgia’s laws on cooperatives to help farmers band together to receive fair prices for their products and to provide financial support and purchasing power. 
• Work to protect growers from monopolies and abusive contracts.
• Ensure that growers have the right to repair their equipment and use and save their seed stock. 
• Encourage small processors to facilitate growers supplying local food systems.

NEW FARMERS 

Agriculture is the future of our state, and the Democratic Party of Georgia is ready to make major investments in that future. The age of the average farmer in Georgia is almost 60 years old. We need more young farmers graduating from our land grant universities, as well as more young folks starting new family farms. New businesses in the form of new farms will help grow rural communities from the inside out. 

• Create career pipelines for new farmers.  
• Expand funding for agriculture programs at public universities. 
• Ensure all school districts have access to agricultural education. 

DIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURE

Georgia has always been an agricultural powerhouse, but historically, not all of its people have had access to the benefits of this legacy – particularly Black Georgians. The ill effects of slavery, sharecropping, redlining, and a host of other injustices still linger in our communities. The DPG will work to ensure that, when the bounty of Georgia’s agricultural industry is served, everyone will have a seat at the table.

• Create paths for communities historically left behind by agriculture to build generational wealth through farming.
• Fully fund 1892 land grant universities.  
• Protect heirs’ rights by supporting services to retain inheritance.  
• Expand access to capital and loans for traditionally marginalized communities.

AGRICULTURAL WORKERS

Georgia Democrats recognize that our agricultural workers, like all workers, deserve respect and protection regardless of industry or documentation status.  

• Create a secure channel for all workers through which labor violations can be safely reported without threat of retaliation, including for workers with visas or who are undocumented.  
• Ensure safe working conditions, including requiring access to potable water, sufficient breaks, shaded rest areas, and housing. 
• End wage theft, quota payments, and worker misclassification.

FEEDING LOCAL COMMUNITIES 

The DPG affirms that the primary function of Georgia’s agriculture industry should be feeding Georgia’s people. We support creating strong local food systems wherein local farms feed into local markets. We believe everyone should have access to fresh, affordable foods no matter their income or ZIP code. 

• Promote policies that incentivize grocers and pop-up markets to operate within food deserts.
• Expand existing local food pipelines to connect more farmers with local markets.  
• Increase locally sourced food within school cafeterias.
• Fund community gardens in public schools.

SUSTAINABILITY AND NEW TECHNOLOGY

Our farmers can be our best partners in sustainability, helping us protect and preserve our natural resources, while also growing our local economies. The DPG is committed to promoting sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices that center on the health of our soil, waters, air, and people. 

• Expand educational programs and financing opportunities that will incentivize farmers to transition their practices to more environmentally sustainable methods. 
• Make strategic investments in nontraditional and innovative growing methods.  
• Work with our land grant institutions to promote curriculum and research aimed at sustainability.
• That intensive, concentrated animal processing should not be exempted from environmental regulation.
• Advocating and implementing solutions to combat food deserts to provide adequate nutrition to all Georgians regardless of their ZIP code.  

CANNABIS

A robust and prosperous legal cannabis industry can be a huge boost to Georgia farmers, processors, and consumers. The DPG is committed to making the most of this burgeoning new industry by advancing policies that will prioritize safety, availability, equity, production, and innovation in the cannabis industry. 

• Require mandatory testing and safety protocol for Georgia’s legal cannabis industry that will ensure quality and transparency. 
• Establish an equitable licensing and permitting system for cannabis growers and processors. 
• Create pathways for those formerly incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana (cannabis) crimes to get jobs within the legalized industry. 

ANIMAL WELFARE 

The DPG is dedicated to improving animal welfare, especially companion animal welfare.  

• Support statewide “trap, neuter, and release”(TNR) and vaccination programs and ensure well-supported no-kill animal shelters exist in every county.  
• Reform oversight of shelters and breeders.  
• Standardize penalties for crimes involving animal abuse.
• Support programs that encourage veterinary clinics in underserved areas, scholarship programs, and mental health programs for all in the veterinary field. 
• Support policies that promote ethical treatment of animals in agriculture, advocating for regulations that ensure proper living conditions, humane treatment, and responsible management practices for farm animals.

EDUCATION

The DPG affirms that education is an essential foundation for economic security, personal liberation, and a stable Democracy. All persons should have equitable educational opportunities and access to affordable, high-quality, public education. 

Our educators and educational support staff hold a critical position in society. They should be supported, protected, and respected by receiving adequate pay and benefits (based on educational credentials and experience), increased funding for students with all forms of special needs (including mental and psychological needs), optimal student/teacher ratios, fair evaluation, and dismissal procedures.  

As Georgia Democrats, we support policies that create mentally, emotionally, and physically safe environments for learning, including

General Education 

• Strong, fully funded public schools, and financial accountability for all public school programs. Advance state-wide standards of testing and discipline for all schools receiving public funds.  
• Safe and nurturing learning environments for all ages through the creation and implementation of state-wide anti-bullying standards. School buildings and facilities should be up-to-date, safe environments for all students and staff. 
• Establishing LGBTQ+ resource centers on all campuses.
• Accessible and affordable technology, i.e., notebooks, computers, and internet access. Students should be able to access programs and information they need both at school and where they live.
• Expanding and funding universal Pre-Kindergarten programs, increasing access to nutritious meals, transportation, and extracurricular opportunities for every student.  

• Creating accountability and transparency requirements for all current voucher programs. Georgia Democrats oppose expanding any existing voucher programs.
• Enforcing the separation of church and state by opposing the implicit or explicit endorsement of religion through the public education system. Students of all faiths and those who practice no faith should feel safe and included in Georgia schools.
• Creating a statewide database to provide transparent tracking and reporting of data to identify racial disparities in disciplinary actions within the public education system.

Curriculum

• The DPG believes that our educators are experts in their given fields. 

• Encouraging the involvement of parents, caretakers, students, and teachers on advisory panels.
• The DPG supports librarians, educators and media specialists in protecting intellectual freedom and offering materials for the needs and interests of ALL in their community. Parents maintain the right to manage access by their own children to these materials. That right  does NOT extend to determining what other people’s children may access in terms of age-relevant materials for both informational and recreational reading, listening, and viewing.

• Promoting the accurate teaching of history, including southern and racial history. Georgia Democrats believe that all subjects, when accessible to all and taught accurately (by educators, not legislators), are critical to our development as a nation.
• Advocate for the teaching of the history of and ongoing struggles with our Civil, Women’s, and LBGTQ+ rights movements here in Georgia and across the country.

Post-Secondary Education

• Expanding the HOPE scholarship and grant programs to include trade/technical schools and to meet the needs of all students by using a needs-based approach.
• Allowing undocumented Georgia residents who came to the United States as children, who are DACA recipients (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), to pay in-state tuition and attend public colleges, universities, and trade/technical schools in the state they grew up in.  
• Increasing funding for HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and other minority-serving institutions of higher education across the state of Georgia.
• Protecting the academic freedom of students and faculty to learn, research, and pursue knowledge free from political, religious, or governmental interference.

ECONOMIC SECURITY

Democrats recognize our country and our economy are strongest when they provide opportunity for all Americans—when we grow our country from the bottom up. Democrats are committed to policies that combat wealth and income inequality. Democrats support spurring job creation, honoring the right to organize, rebuilding our infrastructure, investing in clean-energy technologies, and green jobs, and restoring fairness and opportunity to our economy. We champion the causes of small business and entrepreneurial spirit.

Georgia Democrats support:

• The creation of jobs for Georgians that provide liveable wages and benefits.
• Safe and healthy workplaces that are free from discrimination and ensure equal opportunity employment practices. 
• The right to organize and bargain collectively to ensure fair wages, including in the public sector. 
• Unions are critical to our labor rights, and we support the repeal of Georgia’s right-to-work law.
• Affirming the state’s role in developing vital infrastructure needs such as Georgia’s ports, multimodal transportation, and the state’s water supply to not only create jobs now but also to make Georgia more competitive in the future.
• Supporting small businesses as a primary driver of job growth in Georgia.
• Infrastructure development of high-speed broadband to all homes and businesses so that everyone, especially in rural and underserved areas, can have access to the economic power of the Internet.
• Providing economic security for Georgians, by increasing funding for programs like healthcare, labor, and job training. 
• Advocate for affordable housing availability, providing the security of a stable home for self and family while pursuing future career paths.
• We affirm the critical importance of agriculture to the Georgia economy and the inherent value of the family farm. We advocate for supporting farmers through policy and funding.
• The increased funding of apprenticeship programs to expand skilled labor in Georgia, in partnership with our unions, businesses, and trade schools.
• The increased funding of internship programs to expand labor in Georgia, in partnership with our unions, businesses, and trade schools.
• Expanded and increased funding for childcare options for working Georgia families.  

HEALTHCARE

High-quality healthcare is crucial for economic security, workforce productivity, healthy communities, and a strong society. Access to high-quality, affordable healthcare is a basic human right.  Providers, policymakers, industry leaders, and the public must collaborate to reform and restructure our health delivery and financing system to secure this right. 

Georgia Democrats support:

• Expanding Medicaid now and protecting access to Medicare while working towards a universal healthcare system to provide comprehensive and affordable healthcare.  Ensuring access to quality, affordable physical and mental healthcare in all communities, including developing and increasing access to services for vulnerable, rural, and penal populations, and those entering substance use disorder treatment programs.
• Empowering individuals to make healthcare decisions freely. Utilizing technology and innovation for cost-efficient healthcare options. Promoting programs that provide accessibility to participation in health and wellness services.  
• Support and advocate for reproductive freedom for all including abortion, in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and any other fertility or contraceptive use. 
• Georgia is among the worst morbidity and mortality rates for women giving birth, especially Black women and poor women. Georgia must research the causes of the high maternal mortality and implement programs to reduce it. 
• At the time of this drafting, the number 1 cause of death for children is gun violence. Gun violence is a public health emergency and Georgia must take action to reduce the impact of gun violence.
• Legislating gun safety, based on accurate and scientific information and statistics, to reduce firearm deaths.
• Implementing preventive interventions for special needs populations, particularly children and seniors. Increasing funding for home healthcare programs as alternatives to long-term nursing home care and expanding funding for in-home care by related individuals. Improve the quality of long-term care facilities by enforcing the regulations and safety checks already in existence. 
• Promoting Georgia as a premier health research location through partnerships with private enterprises and research universities, including support for embryonic stem cell research.

HOUSING

Safe and affordable housing is a fundamental human right. However, decades of redlining, rising income inequality, and predatory lending practices have left homeownership out of reach for working-class families and throughout minority communities.  Homeownership has long been central to building generational wealth.  Expanding access to affordable housing is critical to closing the racial wealth gap and upward mobility of all Americans. Our cities are unaffordable and our rural communities are rapidly becoming so, with people being forced out of their homes due to rising property taxes and gentrification. Initiatives should be passed that increase the availability of affordable rental units across the state. All city, county, and state elected officials should be working to ease the housing crisis. 

Georgia Democrats support:

• Remove restrictive zoning laws that prevent housing from being built in business and commercial zones. Encourage adaptive reuse policies by using current vacant state/city-owned property for housing development. Incentivize affordable housing and sustainable dense development on public and private blighted properties, through tax incentives, land use policies, and direct investment.
• Expand rental assistance, programs designed to support homeowners facing foreclosure, and affordable housing opportunities for all.  Implement grants and low-interest rates for first-time homebuyers. Advocate for legal representation for low-income tenants in landlord disputes and eviction proceedings.
• Support for the unhoused and unsheltered with wraparound services that lead to more stable living environments. Strive to end homelessness among Veterans, the LGTBQ community, those with mental health needs, and all communities at higher risk of being unsheltered.  
• Support policies that discourage unfair market speculation perpetrated by large corporations and manipulation of the market via surplus buying of single-family homes that hurts working-class people and children and families. Implementing regulations to restrict the conversion of residential properties into short-term rentals, ensuring that housing remains primarily available for long-term tenants and owner-occupants.
• Require all housing development projects receiving public funds to adhere to applicable code and quality standards, with union pay/safety standards being the desired goal. Prioritize high-density, transit-oriented developments. Provide subsidies for energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households, affordable housing units, and public housing units.

INTEGRITY IN GOVERNMENT

Georgia Democrats believe in core democratic principles, including universal adult citizen suffrage, free and fair elections, equal treatment of all citizens under the law, and a government that respects the rule of law. Furthermore, we believe that it is a privilege to serve in elected office, and all who serve should be held to the highest ethical standards.

Georgia Democrats support:

• Public financing of state elections to reduce the corrupting influence of corporations and the 1% wealthiest on our political system.  
• Efforts to increase voter turnout in the state, by establishing same-day voter registration, a state holiday for elections, and full voting rights for formerly incarcerated citizens.
• A verifiable, and secure voting system that protects voter privacy.
• Establishing an independent redistricting commission.
• Legislation prohibiting elected leaders or their agents from attempting to influence election administration. 
• Efforts to stop elected leaders or other government employees from using government power to punish individuals, businesses, and other private entities for their political positions or activities.  Support adequate funding and staffing of ethics regulating agencies in the state.  Support protections for whistleblowers from political or personal retribution.

JUSTICE

The DPG will always strive to uphold and protect the United States Constitution and the Georgia Constitution and to defend everyone’s right to equal and impartial justice under the law regardless of economic status and/or other social indicators. We the people have the right to Life and Liberty, and protecting these rights is one of the main responsibilities of state and local governments.

The government must protect the rights of all and the integrity of the democratic process; furthermore, the government has the responsibility to safeguard all people from discrimination and harassment. To this end, Georgia Democrats will craft laws to benefit the common good without unduly restricting individual liberty. We recognize that there are areas of personal privacy and freedom into which government intrusion should be limited including, but not limited to, personal decisions about one’s health, religious beliefs, personal relationships, and family life.

Democrats are dedicated to protecting and preserving equitable justice. We reject mass incarceration.   We must combat the disparate impacts of racial and socioeconomic discrimination.  We support creating a Georgia where everyone can thrive and all are equal before the Law.  We embrace policies that are evidence-based and trauma-informed which support public safety, harm reduction, rehabilitation, recovery, and re-entry. 

Criminal Justice

Criminal justice reform incorporates every aspect of the criminal justice system. Reform is needed to ensure fairness in how the state makes charging, bail, diversion, sentencing and rehabilitation decisions, guides the actions of law enforcement officers, monitors the treatment of those incarcerated, and reintegrates formerly incarcerated individuals into society.

Georgia Democrats support: 

• Impartial and efficient operation of our court system necessary for the administration of justice to ensure fair and equal treatment for all. Investigating all cases of suspected judicial discrimination.
• Funding our court system to ensure everyone has equitable access to qualified legal representation. Ensuring public defender caseloads do not negatively impact defendant representation. Eliminating pretrial detention and cash bail for misdemeanor and nonviolent offenses. Improving the regulations surrounding incarcerated labor to prevent exploitation including, but is not limited to, the creation of a mandatory minimum wage for incarcerated labor and the preservation of prison labor rights.
• Hate crime legislation to increase criminal penalties for acts of violence or intimidation committed because of a victim’s age, race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, familial status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and all other protected or marginalized groups.
• Prohibiting the private operation and/or management of prisons and detention centers and reducing for-profit probation services. Eliminating the costs of telecommunications for detained and incarcerated individuals from for-profit, private companies.
• Reforming record restriction laws and removing the question of criminal history on initial employment and housing applications to increase program participation and expand employment opportunities.  Restoring voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals who completed their sentences.
• Legalizing marijuana and extending clemency to those who have been formerly convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses. Building an effective system of drug courts, veterans courts, accountability courts, and other diversionary programs that allow for needs-based applications to create opportunities for rehabilitation as opposed to incarceration.
• Unrestricted access by female inmates in all correctional facilities to feminine hygiene products.  Unrestricted access to medications for all inmates for any medical needs. 

Law Enforcement 

Georgia Democrats support:

• Creating community-building opportunities with local law enforcement through investments in community policing initiatives and the establishment of community-level review boards. Expanding funding for co-responder units and other crisis response teams staffed with social workers, peer specialists, and medical and mental health professionals. Requiring mandatory training of public safety personnel to enhance interactions with people with mental, physical, and social disabilities.
• Creating a state-specific database to track all officer-involved shootings. Issuing guidelines for the appropriate use of force by Georgia law enforcement officers. Implementing measures to combat discriminatory practices and police brutality.  Appointing independent special prosecutors to investigate all cases involving accusations of police brutality. Requiring the mandatory use of body cameras by all law enforcement officers. 
• Restricting the use of solitary confinement practices in all federal, state, and local correctional facilities.
• Decriminalizing homelessness by eliminating laws that criminalize unhoused individuals.
• Promoting legislation to protect victims of online harassment and cyberbullying.

Social Justice 

• We support the self-determination of indigenous peoples who call Georgia their traditional home.
• We recognize the rights of the Gullah-Geechee people to maintain their community.
• Reforming the civil asset forfeiture system to protect personal property rights and to remove unjust financial incentives for law enforcement to generate revenue for local police departments and governments.
• Increasing funding and infrastructure investments towards economic and mental health policies that address poverty and economic inequality as a root cause of crime.  Creating and funding community youth programs to reduce local violence and gang involvement.
• Establishing regional rehabilitative programs that are accessible and affordable to all concerning transportation and economic ability.
• Counting incarcerated persons as residents of their last location of free residence rather than residents of their present location of incarceration for purposes of redistricting at all levels of government. Providing government-issued ID to allow unsheltered or unhoused people, immigrants, and other persons to provide documentation to law enforcement and access to government services.

NATURAL RESOURCES

The Climate Crisis must be addressed immediately. The state and all local governments need to create a plan to reduce and ultimately eliminate dependence on fossil fuels, create jobs to address this time of transition, construct the infrastructure to facilitate the change, secure for the state clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, provide healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment. Low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by the impacts of air pollution, water pollution, and toxic hazards like lead that increase health and economic hardship. These plans need to promote justice and equity by involving all marginalized communities in their creation. Democrats believe clean air and clean water are basic rights of all Georgians.

Georgia Democrats support:

Energy 

• Reducing statewide carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and by 100% by 2050 and advocating for statewide collaboration to decrease our energy consumption. 
• Working with local governments and school systems to design a plan to move towards buildings and vehicles being powered by renewable energy by 2035.  
• Protecting communities from the toxins in coal ash by ensuring that all coal ash is stored in dry, lined, and capped facilities. Monitoring and supporting increased regulation of commercial data centers to limit their negative environmental impact.

Economic Justice and Growth

• Adopting a comprehensive set of consumer financial incentives for the purchase of climate-friendly technology such as solar panels, electric vehicles, and charging equipment, with an emphasis on access for disadvantaged communities who are historically less likely to benefit from environmental efforts.
• Reforming the state’s Public Service Commission. Reducing monopolies and encouraging competition, allow for competitive renewable energy expansion, requiring power companies to shoulder their own investment risk, and ultimately lower rates while achieving sustainability goals. 

Infrastructure/Transportation

• Expanding passenger rail and zero-emission bus routes while implementing public transportation options for all communities.
• Monitoring underserved areas and providing incentives to provide equitable charging facilities.
• Increasing the energy efficiency of homes and implementing programs that serve all income levels becoming energy efficient. Establish rating guidelines for energy consumption. 

Environment

• Protection of our public lands, wetlands, and watersheds to include supporting the expansion of these spaces by strengthening our laws and enforcement of existing laws regulating state parks and forests.
• Incentives for metro regions and municipalities to develop land use plans that allow for more compact, walkable communities. 
• Promote local regulations and enforcement for clear-cutting and grading of land for homes and businesses. Promoting and advocating for waste reduction and waste reduction strategies.
• Incentives and programs that study, test and promote biodiversity, and wildlife viability. Support monitoring and containing invasive species across the state. 

NATIONAL SECURITY

Georgia Democrats have a long history of support for our national defense. Georgia is home to 13 active-duty military installations that play a critical role in Georgia’s economy.  These bases represent four of the six branches of the  United States Armed Forces, including the largest military installation on the East Coast at Fort Moore, the headquarters for the US Army Signal Corps and Cyber Warfare School at Fort Eisenhower; and the home of the nation’s Atlantic Trident-missile submarine fleet at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. These bases and their surrounding communities house, support and employ approximately one million Veterans, retirees, active duty and reserve service members, civilian employees, and their families.

Georgia Democrats remain committed to protecting and preserving Georgia’s role in America’s national security strategy by strengthening our support for Veterans and their families. We believe one of the fundamental roles of the government is to provide for national security. We support the courageous people in the armed forces who protect our country. We support our military and promote diplomacy as a first option.   We must provide good care for our service members, Veterans, and their families in recognition of their service and sacrifice and ensure their benefits are protected. This means supporting them and their families mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Georgia Democrats support:

• People seeking to migrate to the United States should be allowed to do so simply, safely, and securely. 
• Legislation or policy to keep immigrant families together and not disrupt the family unit. 
• Protecting the working relationship between law enforcement, public safety officials, other government agencies, and immigrant communities.
• Promote an expanded number of insured vehicles and drivers in Georgia and stimulate the state’s economy via tags, titles, and fees for all immigrant communities. 

• Measures to institute legislation that allows immigrants to attain legal status or citizenship in a fair, timely manner, and in numbers necessary to contribute to our nation’s economy and the economy of the State of Georgia.
• Protecting Georgia’s critical infrastructure is paramount for maintaining not only our state’s security but also our country’s security.
  

VETERANS AFFAIRS

The Democratic Party of Georgia recognizes and is thankful for the many commitments and sacrifices that military families and members have made and continue to endure while serving our country. Georgia Democrats know that our military personnel and their families play a vital role in our communities, and we will advocate and strive for policies that promote and protect Georgia’s veterans.

Georgia Democrats support: 

• Utilizing diplomatic and peaceful solutions being used before any military action which includes calling on the Governor’s office to justify any ongoing missions of the Georgia National Guard not ordered under federal authority.
• Advocating for the expansion of the Veterans Affairs(VA) network in the state through appropriate federal and/or state programs. Currently, there are only four Veterans Affairs benefits centers in Georgia to help with that transition. Combating Veteran homelessness on a local and state level. .

• Promoting suicide prevention and mental health treatment programs while specifically calling for policies extending these programs to veterans and veterans groups across the state. Veterans are 1.5x more likely to commit suicide than any other demographic category in the United States. This equates to 17 veteran suicides a day. 
• Providing access to reproductive healthcare for all military service members. Protecting LGBTQ+  service members.

CONCLUSION

Georgia Democrats call on all Georgians to unite behind the principles of good government to face the challenges of our times. We believe that America’s promise is ongoing with enduring values. Georgia’s Democrats are determined to renew America’s most basic premise: opportunity and responsibility for every American.

Note about content.

A platform is used to articulate policies that the Democratic Party, and thus their elected candidates, support. As in, legislation that furthers a mission, objective, or value. Individuals may have general opinions on education that are not based on state policy. Unless the DPG believes that the state should have the ultimate say in every aspect of our children’s education, from school start time to homework load to “southern” art, then that position should not be recommended as a statement within the platform. It is the difference between having an opinion at a school board meeting versus contemplating how a political party can support educational efforts through policy and legislation. Thus, the question is not whether you generally agree with a statement but if you think it would be appropriate for a Democratic candidate to use that statement when articulating their political stance. We should ask, “Is this a school problem or a Georgia problem that can be resolved through public policy?” This is not the place for a general issue you have with your local school.