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DEL.ICIO.USIsrael: Business bears some of the blame for gunfight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anyone who keeps track of politics via the Internet in Georgia knows that some of the best political theater in the state can be found in Vidalia, on 100.9 FM.
Each morning, soft-spoken local attorney Wilson Smith conducts top-notch interviews with figures across Georgia. Better yet, he posts his interviews on the Web.
The key to Smith’s success is his patience. Smith lets his guests ramble until they feel comfortable and actually say something important.
On Wednesday, Smith interviewed George Israel, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The topic was the chamber’s recent fight at the state Capitol against the National Rifle Assocation and its guns-in-parking-lots bill.
The bill would have permitted employees to keep guns in their cars parked on company lots. The measure was defeated, but only after much blood was spilled in the state Senate.
For the first time that we’ve heard, Israel admitted that business bore some of the blame for the fight, by over-reacting in a specific case in 2002.
Said Israel:
“This case started out in Oklahoma, involving a Weyerhauser [forest products] plant of some 1,100 employees. Dogs were brought to do a drug shakedown, and as part of the shakedown — the dogs had been cross-trained for ATF use, so they would hit on explosives and gunpowder or guns.
“And I think there were seven employees that had guns in their trucks or cars. They were terminated.
“I think that was the first mistake Weyerhauser made. I would certainly advise an employer — preserve your policy by some sort of reprimand, but you don’t have to fire somebody.
“They went a little too far in the Oklahoma case. It started there, it spread to the Oklahoma General Assembly. [An Okalahoma chamber official] advised us of this three years ago, and actually predicted it would be spreading to other states.
“Sure enough, it was introduced last year, and we’ve had our hands full both session.”
Comments
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By Kathy
May 9, 2007 4:13 PM | Link to this
Israel also defended the Chamber’s opposition to bills this past session to allow consumers to place a freeze on their credit. Wilson Smith rightly pointed out that consumers should have the right to make decisions about their credit info to prevent identity theft. 36 states have given their citizens this ability and hopefully the Chamber won’t stand in the way of Georgians getting this right next session.
By toombs co resident
May 13, 2007 12:14 AM | Link to this
100.9 FM is not a Vidalia radio Station, it is a Lyons station. Please don’t lump us together with Vidalia