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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2006 > March > 24
Friday, March 24, 2006
House votes to ban demonstrations at funerals
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House members voted Friday to ban demonstrations at funerals, declaring that the feelings of grieving families of slain soldiers and other dead should override the free-speech rights of protesters.
The bill, which passed 144-15, bans “disorderly or disruptive” conduct at funerals. It was filed in response to anti-gay demonstrations that members of a Kansas church have staged at funerals across the country, including those of civil rights champion Coretta Scott King and Iraqi War soldiers.
Supporters and opponents of the bill denounced the protests by the Rev. Fred Phelps and his fundamentalist congregation in Kansas as unseemly. But some House members insisted that the protesters’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech should prevail.
The bill prohibits offensive signs and abusive language within 500 feet of a funeral service, something the ACLU has said would likely be ruled unconstitutional.
Rep. Ron Forster (R-Ringgold), who brought Senate Bill 606 to the floor of the House, said the protests are “so vile and repugnant” that 15 states have or are in the process of passing similar legislation.
“Can you imagine a group coming [to the funeral] of your military father, son, mother or daughter … yelling things?” Forster asked. “All we’re saying is, during these tender moments, these type of demonstrations are not allowed.”
Rep. Ed Rynders (R-Albany) said demonstrating for political purposes at a funeral is in “incredibly bad taste.
“I would never do that. My momma didn’t raise me that way,” Rynders said.
But he said he said the constitutional issue of freedom of speech might be a bigger issue than placing restrictions on “people who go out there and behave like we wouldn’t behave.
“I would ask you to seriously think about whether it’s a bigger danger [than] squashing and stepping on their rights to do that,” Rynders said. Rep. Douglas Dean (D-Atlanta) said: “Next year, we’ll be down hear passing laws against speaking at funerals.”
Rep. Chuck Sims (R-Ambrose), a funeral director, told House members that a funeral “is not a place to issue some kind of statement.
“A funeral is a time when we all should reflect on someone’s life and their intimate relationships,” Sims said.
Phelps and some members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas have picketed at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, claiming the deaths were God’s reaction to the United States’ tolerance for homosexuality.
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Hispanics protest legislation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than 100 Hispanic high school students waved Mexican flags and shouted “Justice” outside the state Capitol today to protest the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, which passed the House or Representatives on Thursday.
“Everybody should have the same rights,” said Griffin High School student Zoila Ochoa who skipped school for the protest. “We just want justice.”
Many of the protesters waved Mexican flags and some sounded loud air horns. The crowd cheered loudly as several cars dove by, their passengers waving Mexican flags out the open windows.
Luis Rogue, an 18-year-old who attends Druid Hills High School, said he came with a group of students from Cross Keys High School
“I think the Hispanic population is a big part of the workforce,” Rogue said. “I think this bill discriminates against people who work hard.”
Rogue said his family members are legal residents and have been in the country 13 years. His dad works construction, he said, and his mother works in a restaurant.
The students were protesting Senate Bill 529, which is aimed a illegal immigrants and their employers.
The protest was not limited to the Capitol.
Hispanics stayed away from gas stations, restaurants and other businesses Friday to protest Georgia legislation cracking down on illegal immigration.
A stretch of Buford Highway usually bustling with Latino shoppers looked like a ghost town as many Hispanic-owned groceries, retailers and other stores stayed shut. And businesses that did open saw fewer customers.
Asif Khan, clerk of a Texaco near Chamblee, said Hispanics normally make up half the gas station’s clientele. But by 9 a.m., not a single Latino had passed through, said Khan, who was leisurely flipping through the newspaper. “I actually have time to read this,” he said.
Outside, Jody Darby wondered why he was the lone driver pumping gas. “I thought ‘Is it a holiday or what?,’” he said.
The March 17 Alliance of Georgia — a coalition of Hispanic clergy, business owners and activists — called on Hispanics to not buy anything today as a way of signaling the Latino community’s importance to the state’s economy. They also asked Hispanic workers to stay home if they could do so without jeopardizing their jobs. That piece of the partial boycott appeared to be getting less compliance.
Manuel Garcia said he and his 15-man landscaping crew were told they’d be fired if they didn’t show for work today. That’s why they were busily sprinkling pine straw around bushes and flower beds at warehouses along Best Friend Road in Norcross. “We have families to support,” Garcia said.
The workers went out their way to buy water yesterday, however, and brought their own lunches to avoid having to purchase anything today.
Ali Mesghali, owner of Rumi’s Kitchen on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, said two of his cooks approached him to tell him about the boycott.
With a staff that’s a good mix of Hispanic and American workers, Mesghali closed the Persian eatery for lunch Friday, choosing instead to open for the day at 5 p.m. for dinner.
“We wanted to support the Spanish people,” Mesghali said. “I told them that if this is what you believe, I’m supporting you guys.”
Authored by state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) the immigration bill has passed the state Senate and House, but the chambers passed different versions and a final bill could be fashioned by a conference committee before the Legislature adjourns.
Rogers’ bill attempts to prohibit adult illegal immigrants from getting taxpayer-funded benefits to which they are not entitled. It also attempts to ensure that companies with public contracts hire only workers in the country legally, and it would financially penalize private employers who hire illegal immigrants. The bill also would establish tough penalties for human trafficking.
House members added a provision in committee that would require illegal immigrants to pay a 5 percent surcharge on money they wire out of the country. That has upset some senators who might try to remove that section.
There are an estimated 250,000 to 800,000 illegal immigrants in Georgia — though no one has a precise number. Proponents of a crackdown say illegal immigrants burden schools, prisons and the health care system without footing an equal part of the tax burden. Opponents of Rogers’ proposal say immigrants are here seeking a better life, do pay taxes and take only the jobs Americans refuse.
Pilot program to test paper receipts for electronic voting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia House unanimously approved legislation Friday that could create a paper trail of ballots cast on the state’s electronic voting machines.
SB 500, introduced by Sen. Bill Stephens (R-Canton) would set up pilot programs in Bibb, Camden and Cobb County for this year’s November general elections.
“This is going to be a way to verify that our voting system is trustworthy and honest,” said Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville), who brought the bill to the floor of the House.
Under Stephens’ bill, which is headed back to the Senate for approval of some House changes, calls for machines to be set up in one precinct in the three counties and produce a paper record of each voter’s electronic ballot. Voters will not take the ballot with them. They would only be able to view it and confirm that the choices on the paper receipt match those made on the electronic touch screen.
Portrait honoring former Speaker Tom Murphy unanimously approved
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia House put aside partisan politics today and unanimously passed a resolution authorizing a portrait of legendary Speaker Tom Murphy to hang in the state Capitol.
Murphy, the nation’s longest serving state House speaker, has been out of office since late 2002 and has been in failing health in recent years.
Current House Speaker Glenn Richardson, a Republican from Hiram, suggested the tribute to Murphy, a lifelong Democrat from Bremen, but and found support for the idea crossed party lines.
All 180 members of the House - 100 Republicans, 79 Democrats and one Independent, were recorded voting in favor of hanging Murphy’s portrait on the third floor of the Capitol.
Richardson, who had his share of public disagreements with Murphy, told House colleagues he is in awe of the man who stood for election 21 times, served in the General Assembly for 42 years and was speaker through parts of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
“You can’t do that unless you have great character, integrity, intelligence and wisdom,” said Richardson, who is in his second year as speaker. “I’m going to tell you what: It’s not an easy job. There are days I wonder how he did it. But he gave his heart his soul, his all to the state of Georgia.”
Rep. DuBose Porter of Dublin, the leader of House Democrats, once challenged the cigar-chomping, Stetson hat-wearing Murphy for the speaker’s job.
“We may have seen the world a little different at times,” Porter said from the well of the House. “But I loved that man because he loved this state. He loved this body.”
He credited Murphy for standing his ground early in his tenure as speaker to guarantee that the General Assembly was an independent body, not subservient to the governor.
Porter said Murphy saw the state through a remarkable era of growth and change and, though he was a champion of rural Georgia, acknowledged that “Atlanta’s growth was important to us.
“He had a way of reaching out and bringing people together for the right things of this state,” Porter said.
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hate crimes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Should criminals get stiffer sentences if they commit a crime because of “the victim’s race, religion, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation?” The Senate yesterday approved a new “hate crimes law” that allows a judge to increase the sentence 50 percent if the crime is committed for one of those five reasons. A similar laws was thrown out by the courts. Critics say the law isn’t needed, and that a “crime is a crime,” no matter the motive. So, should criminals get stiffer sentences for committing crimes defined as “hate crimes?”
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