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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Stem cell bill passes in last-minute vote
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A bill that would promote nondestructive stem cell research in Georgia received a last-minute committee vote Tuesday, greatly improving the proposal’s chances of passing the General Assembly this year.
The House Science and Technology Committee, chaired by Rep. Amos Amerson (R-Dahlonega), approved Senate Bill 148 with no opposition. Last week, the committee declined to vote on the measure, raising doubts about whether the bill would pass before the final day of the Legislative session. The 2007 session is expected to wrap up on Friday.
“My objective from the beginning has been to promote every type of stem cell research over which there is no ethical controversy,” said Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth), the bill’s sponsor. “The committee substitute approved by the House committee today achieves that goal by citing federal guidelines.”
Shafer said he worked with House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) on reworking the bill. The measure now mirrors some of the language in a federal bill being pushed by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga).
Isakson’s measure, dubbed the Hope Act, would provide federal funding only for research on stem cells taken from so-called “naturally dead” embryos —- those too deficient to produce a child if implanted. His bill is intended to address critics’ main objection: that taking stem cells from viable embryos destroys the embryos, an act they equate with taking a human life.
The U.S. Senate last week passed the bill.
In Georgia, Shafer’s bill needs to pass the full House and then must return to the Senate for approval of the changes made by the House.
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Effort to help Wilson falls short
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A last-ditch attempt to have a judge review the 10-year sentence of a Douglas County teen on consensual sex charges failed in the state Senate on Tuesday.
Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) attempted to amend House Bill 197 to include a provision that would allow judges to lessen the sentences of teenagers within a certain age of each other convicted of consensual sex acts.
Jones has been trying to help Genarlow Wilson, a 17-year-old high school student convicted of felony aggravated child molestation for receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old at a New Year’s Eve party in 2003.
Jones argued that the Legislature changed the laws in 2006 to make such consensual acts among teenagers a misdemeanor. But other legislators argued that the broadly-written proposal could have opened the door to a review of some cases far more serious than Wilson’s. Some also questioned the fairness of passing a bill to potentially help Wilson, given that he turned down a plea bargain that was accepted by his co-defendants.
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Va. Tech shooting prompts prayer in state House
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State lawmakers held hands and prayed on the floor of the House of Representatives this morning for the victims of Monday’s shooting massacre at Virginia Tech, which included two men from Georgia.
Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain) told the House about a longtime friend who was killed in the shooting, Christopher J. Bishop.
Bishop, 35, grew up in Pine Mountain, where his parents still reside, Smith said. He attended the University of Georgia on a Fullbright fellowship and studied in Europe, Smith said. He was a German professor at Virginia Tech, Smith said.
“I watched him grow all his life,” Smith said. “We don’t know why he was in the classroom when this gunman came in. And I guess he was the first … ” Smith said in a voice choked with emotion before pausing to compose himself. “Remember his family … Pray for him.”
Rep. Quincy Murphy (D-Augusta) talked about Ryan Clark, 22, of Martinez in Columbia County. Clark had a 4.0 grade point average at Virginia Tech and was studying three majors, including psychology, biology and English, Murphy said. Clark was scheduled to graduate in May, Murphy added.
“Ryan was remembered as a very active, humorous, kind and gentle friend,” Murphy told the House. “We solicit your prayers for all of the families of all of the students.”
Rep. Hardie Davis (D-Gracewood) then led the House in prayer.
“May the families that have suffered great loss, Lord God, be able to stand together,” Davis said. “And may you resurrect them and revive them during this time. This we pray in our father’s name, amen.”
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Shooting spree hangs heavy over pending gun debate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The shooting spree at Virginia Tech is hanging heavy over the pending debate today in the Senate on a bill that would give Georgians greater access to firearms in motor vehicles.
The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police has strongly opposed both House Bill 89 and Senate Bill 43, which were morphed into one bill — HB 89 — on Monday. The bills would allow motorists without a criminal record or history of mental illness to conceal weapons inside their cars and in many cases store them inside their cars while parked in their employers’ lots.
But the massacre at Virginia Tech has hit close to home for the head of the police chiefs’ group.
Frank V. Rotondo, executive director of the Georgia Assocatiion of Chiefs of Police, wrote a letter to senators today, urging them to vote against HB 89. Rotondo, a former police chief in Helen, Ga. and homicide detective in New York, wore a Virginia Tech tie at the Capitol today. It was given to him by his son, who graduated from Virginia Tech last year.
“Yesterday was indeed a day that we as Americans should never forget,” the letter opens. “The shooting deaths of 33 innocent individuals at one of our nation’s premier institutions of higher learning, Virginia Tech, has shown us that the bizarre conduct of one person, presumably a ‘law abiding citizen’ with firearms, could wreak havoc on the tranquility of society.”
Rotondo argues that Georgians who want to conceal weapons in their cars can apply for a firearms permit. Changing the law may encourage more people to pack guns in cars, which could lead to “road rage” and other impulse shootings, police have argued.
“The law as it stands now is fine,” Rotondo wrote. “Any attempt at refining the statute will clearly mean more deaths.”
Rotondo goes on to note that the bill is also opposed by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia PTA, the Georgia chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, Georgians for Gun Safety and other groups.
A vote on the bill is scheduled for later today.
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