{"id":25477,"date":"2021-04-01T09:02:41","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T13:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=25477"},"modified":"2023-09-24T15:54:50","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T19:54:50","slug":"gun-rights-bill-fails-in-georgia-legislature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=25477","title":{"rendered":"Gun rights bill fails in Georgia legislature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lawmakers considered several measures this session that critics argued were tone deaf and ignored the pleas for police reform that followed 2020\u2019s string of high-profile shootings of Black Americans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time the ceremonial tattered papers flew shortly after midnight, legislators had backed a bill that would prohibit city and county officials from cutting their police budget<\/a> by more than 5%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But other controversial measures \u2013 such as an expansion of gun rights<\/a> and a push to educate new drivers on how to interact with police officers \u2013 failed to make it to the governor\u2019s desk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrankly, I thought we needed to be very, very sensitive to any gun legislation,\u201d House Speaker David Ralston, a Blue Ridge Republican, told reporters early Thursday morning when asked about the gun bill. \u201cYou know, we\u2019re less than two weeks out from two major mass killings and so that heightens my level of sensitivity to that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight people, including six women of Asian descent, were killed in a series of shootings at Atlanta-area spas<\/a> last month. Within a week, another mass shooting<\/a> killed 10 people at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers also came together to overhaul Georgia\u2019s Civil War-era citizen\u2019s arrest law, which was initially cited by the south Georgia prosecutor who did not file charges in the slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrators took to the streets last year to call for the law\u2019s repeal. In the end, lawmakers drastically remade the law so business owners and out-of-jurisdiction law enforcement officers could detain someone suspected of a crime. Gov. Brian Kemp announced early this session that rewriting the law would be one of his priorities for the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI look forward to signing it into law as we continue to send a clear message that the Peach State will not tolerate sinister acts of vigilantism in our communities,\u201d Kemp said in a statement Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate rejects pro-law enforcement driver education bill <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A GOP bill that instructed state agencies to develop educational materials for new drivers on the \u201cbest practices\u201d for interacting with law enforcement passed along party lines in the House Wednesday, only to fail in the Senate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measure sparked impassioned debate that critics noted was playing out at the Statehouse as the trial begins for the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, whose murder inspired a wave of protests that reached Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A visibly upset Sen. Randy Robertson, who sponsored the bill, walked out of the Senate chamber Wednesday night after lawmakers nixed the measure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robertson, a Cataula Republican and former police officer, pleaded with his colleagues to reconsider the motorist education bill after it failed by a 23-26 vote<\/a>. Proponents of the motorist education bill accused opponents of politicizing a measure that they say only sought to help educate new drivers on police procedures and what are considered \u201cbest practices\u201d when pulled over, including when driving in a remote, dimly lit area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robertson said the education component was an attempt to save the lives of people \u201cwho get nervous and get scared when they\u2019re being stopped by law enforcement officers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt gives them an opportunity to understand if an officer mistreats them and  doesn\u2019t observe their First, their Fourth, their Fifth Amendment rights, that they understand how they can file complaints against that officer,\u201d Robertson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill cleared the House before returning to the Senate, where a plan to let school districts set up traffic cameras outside of campuses was also met with some GOP resistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats accused the bill\u2019s supporters of putting the onus on motorists while ignoring the experiences of people of color with law enforcement. Critics also wanted the bill to spell out in the bill that the education provided should include information about the driver\u2019s constitutional rights when stopped by law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe focus should be on addressing racial profiling, the use of excessive force<\/a>, and other systemic issues that poison the interactions between law enforcement and the civilians,\u201d said Rep. Erica Thomas, an Austell Democrat. \u201cThis is an unproductive way to connect with our communities that have a strained relationship with the police.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State Rep. Bee Nguyen, an Atlanta<\/a> Democrat, said parents in communities of color are already having difficult conversations with their children on how to interact with police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat parent wants to tell their child, \u2018Don\u2019t wear a hoodie. Don\u2019t put your hands inside your pocket. Don\u2019t run. Put your hands up?\u2019\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cAnd still \u2013 still \u2013 that might not save you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reality is even if citizens do all the right things, it doesn\u2019t guarantee that their lives won\u2019t be unjustly taken by the hands of law enforcement, especially if you are a Black American,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Alan Powell, a Hartwell Republican, dismissed the criticism of the new driver education measure as being misplaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say Black adults. It doesn\u2019t say white adults. It doesn\u2019t say Asian adults. It says, for all of those who take the driver training course,\u201d Powell said. \u201cSo, this should be a benefit to everybody across all racial lines, all genders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

GOP blocks local police cuts, which haven\u2019t happened here<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers also backed for a final time a contentious measure that is a response to the calls to defund the police that became a rallying cry at demonstrations last summer. The measure would block cities and counties from reducing their police department budget by 5%, with a few exceptions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Georgia cities \u2013 Athens<\/a> and Atlanta \u2013 considered changes to how their police agencies are funded last year. Both measures failed to pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy outlawing any effort to defund the police, Georgia has put a stop to the liberal cities<\/a> and far-left activists trying to enact their dangerous agenda across our state,\u201d Athens Republican Rep. Houston Gaines, who was the bill\u2019s sponsor, said in a statement after the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats accused GOP lawmakers of undercutting local decision makers and bypassing a broader conversation on policing in favor of scoring political points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo matter how we vote on this bill today, the fact remains that everyone wants to live in a safe community. Everyone wants to live in a safe community and these local governments know best how to keep their community safe,\u201d said Teri Anulewicz, a Smyrna Democrat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-protest bill fails<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The driver\u2019s education program wasn\u2019t the only criminal justice<\/a> setback for Robertson on the final day of this year\u2019s session.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate wrapped up without considering his proposal to increase criminal penalties<\/a> for protesters blocking a highway, destroying monuments and causing property damage and injuring people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robertson defended the stiffer legal consequences as a way to discourage protestors from becoming unruly and holding local governments more accountable for being negligent if they don\u2019t allow police officers to intervene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Democrats, the ACLU of Georgia and other civil rights organizations said Robertson\u2019s plan infringed on people\u2019s freedom of speech and to assemble, calling it an attempt to scare away the peaceful demonstrators who have taken part in racial and social justice rallies over the last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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