The Health Not Prisons (HNP) Collective congratulates our partners, allies, and accomplices in Georgia on a momentous victory. This month, Governor Kemp signed SB 164 into law, making Georgia the 10th state to modernize its HIV criminalization law and the 4th state in the South to modernize or repeal its law.

This is a bright spot of light in an otherwise dark time. Laws that criminalize and target people living with and vulnerable to HIV have no place in a public health response.

“I could not be more thrilled to see this work, work that so many of us have been engaged in over the years, finally culminate in the passage of this legislation. Though I know our work is by no means finished, and there are many more fights ahead of us, I am still grateful for what we have achieved. And I can’t express enough how much I appreciate the extraordinary efforts and brilliance of the HIV movement in Georgia, and our national allies.”

Kamaria Laffrey, Project Director at Sero Project, applauded the efforts of all of the advocates involved, stating:

“Eliminating stigma requires eradicating the policies that support discrimination and the policing of health. Georgia advocates and allies joining in other states that have made HIV Criminalization reform is the example of declaring that HIV is not a crime and another meaningful step towards ending HIV criminalization. The folks involved in this success accomplished this out of necessity for all living in Georgia and are now a part of the catalyst in continuing the movement.”

We thank our partners for their tireless efforts to make Georgia a place that respects the rights, health, and dignity of people living with HIV. The Health Not Prisons Collective will continue to fight against the use of policing, prosecution and imprisonment in public health crises and is committed to the abolition of the carceral state. Congrats again to CNP and all the other advocates in Georgia who made this victory possible!