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Georgia Log Cabin Republican President Jamie Ensley said while the General Assembly failed again to pass a hate crimes law, gay Georgians can now carry concealed weapons on MARTA and other places. (File photo)
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: MATT SCHAFER
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Students won’t enjoy extra protections against bullies, but people will soon be able to carry concealed handguns on MARTA, order wine over the internet, and Dunwoody will be its own city. These are among the accomplishments of the most recent session in the General Assembly that ended April 4.
After passing out of the Senate and clearing the House Education Committee, SB 461, dubbed “the Bully Bill,” died in the House Rules Committee, a victim of what many observers consider an under-productive session dominated by Republican infighting.
“Frankly, it got held hostage by the political process, the bickering between the governor, lieutenant governor and Speaker [of the House Glenn Richardson] about taxes,” said Kyle Bailey, Georgia Equality Political Director.
The ongoing dispute in the Republican leadership over which taxes to cut, and how much to roll back, ate into the legislature’s time during this session. In an effort to gain leverage, lawmakers began to hold bills “hostage.” State Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) allegedly carried the “bully bill” for Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, according to Georgia Equality, which likely resulted in it being bottled up in the Rules Committee. Rogers said previously he proposed the bill because a constituent asked him to after the constituent’s child was bullied in school.
“I think it was rewarding that it got as far as it did,” Bailey said. “It was this bill introduced by two Republican senators, and nobody thought it would go anywhere.”
If approved, the bill would have extended the definition of “bully” to include emotional distress, require schools to draft anti-bullying policies and parental notification. SB 461 was apparently a peace offering to moderate Republicans and Democrats for the death of a hate crimes bill, according to Georgia Equality. Bailey said several moderate Republicans lobbied Cagle for movement on hate crimes, so Cagle asked Rogers to carry the “bully bill” in the Senate.
Before the start of the session, Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson said the House would take no movement on hate crimes this year. His comment essentially killed a Senate bill from State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) that would have included sexual orientation and gender identity. Fort never gave up, and late on the final legislative day on April 4 said, “I’m looking for an appropriate vehicle, but it doesn’t look good.”
By the time the Senate ended session, Fort didn’t find a bill that opened the appropriate section of law. While his hate crimes bill withered on the vine, a House bill calling the notion of hate crime laws “repugnant,” died a quick death at the hands of Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-East Cobb). Rep. Clay Cox (R-Lilburn) riled the fiery lawmaker as she destroyed his bill’s future and then proceeded to berate his beliefs after the hearing.
“What this bill was trying to do is say in the future we cannot consider future hate crime legislation. Well, we can’t do that,” Cooper said. “The whole idea to bring that up is ludicrous, and it just really got all over me. Then to say that if anyone convicted anyone of a hate crime, it would be based on emotion only, just really put me over the top.”
Disappointed by a lack of movement on hate crimes, Jamie Ensley, president of the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans, found assurance in HB 89, which expanded the right to carry concealed firearms into restaurants, MARTA, workplace parking lots and state parks.
“Over the past couple of years, including this session, our legislature has expanded our right to carry firearms almost anywhere, as long as you have a concealed weapons permit,” Ensley said. “All LGBT Georgians [except convicted felons] can now legally defend ourselves with deadly force when necessary without an obligation to retreat when attacked.”
Cox’s bill was the only anti-gay piece of legislation considered this session.
“That’s a big win for us,” Bailey said. “Last session, we dealt with an effort to ban gay adoption, and we stopped that before it even got on the tracks this year.”
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