Last year, the Legislature passed and the governor signed a measure to greatly expand where concealed weapons can be carried in Georgia.
But critics who called it the “guns everywhere bill” were lacking in imagination.
Edward Moore, a CCSU assistant professor, told the Courant that Austin Haughwout was taking a class with him this summer when the student talked about his gun-firing drone and his video that had gone viral.
Moore said he provided no help to Haughwout on the project and told him immediately that it was "a terrible idea."
See for yourself:
Perhaps not by coincidence, the "Closer Look" crew at WABE (90.1FM) on Wednesday had a conversation with state Rep. Keven Tanner, a Dawsonville Republican who heads up a House committee taking a look at legislation to determine where drones can and can't go. Or what they can or can't carry.
“Firearms being equipped [on] drones and being used, is definitely something that will be talked about,” Tanner said.
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We told you earlier this week of the special election for the state House District 80 – and why Democrats have a rare chance to take control of a GOP seat.
We neglected to throw in an extra reason why Republicans are taking the challenge seriously. Should Democrat Taylor Bennett, a former Georgia Tech quarterback, beat former Brookhaven mayor Max Davis, the Republican, then control of the Fulton County House delegation would revert to Democrats. Republicans currrently have a 13-12 edge.
Though mostly in DeKalb County, House District 80 was drawn into Fulton County after the last census – one of several such moves to give Republicans control of local legislation.
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After a false start on Tuesday , the Senate voted Wednesday to move ahead on a multi-year highway bill -- as Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., changed his tune to join Johnny Isakson and support starting debate on the bill.
Perdue still objects to the bill authorizing six years of highway spending while paying for just three years. But when it became clear that the only alternative was a short-term bill to match the House, Perdue decided to let the process move forward, according to spokeswoman Megan Whittemore.
Perdue will introduce an amendment that would match the authorization time period to the amount of funding. It's unclear if he will get a vote, as a huge pile of amendments are expected to this must-pass bill.
One amendment Perdue will oppose, according to Whittemore: An extension of the expired Export-Import Bank, because it's an unrelated issue.
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The Capitol Hill publication Roll Call dubbed Perdue a "key player" on the Foreign Relations Committee, in a piece Wednesday. Writes Niels Lesniewski of the coming Iran debate:
"As a member of that committee, I've lived outside the United States, I've worked outside the United States. I brought a perspective, and we fought hard — both sides. Sen. Cardin did a great job. Sen. Corker did a great job of bringing us together and getting a consensus vote," Perdue said.
Perdue was among the senators building up support for that original legislation, which ultimately got more than the 67 votes needed to overcome what was at that point an expected veto by President Barack Obama. Now, the challenge is to build a consensus about a response to the agreement that could achieve similar support.
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Buzzfeed has a lengthy piece out on former Atlanta U.S. Attorney Sally Q. Yates as the Justice Department's face of sentencing reform, as Congress works on a plan to hack away at mandatory minimums. The whole story is worth a read, but here's a taste of Yates' pitch:
Yates has been saying for years that mandatory minimums — which don't apply in the vast majority of cases federal prosecutors coerce cooperation from all the time — aren't necessary to put high-level drug offenders behind bars. Now she's overseeing the process by which prosecutors move away from mandatory minimums, and she's one of the leading advocates in the administration push to eliminate mandatory minimums altogether in most cases.
It's a fundamental change to the way prosecutors think about their work when it comes to drug cases. Getting convictions without relying on mandatory minimums is a key legacy of Holder's term as Attorney General, and now it's a central part of Yates' argument to lawmakers that it's time to change the nation's sentencing laws.
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Last week's Chattanooga shootings have already inspired a new bill from freshman Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe, to allow service members to arm themselves at recruitment offices.
Said Hice in a statement:
"Our nation grieves for the lives lost in the appalling terrorist attack in Chattanooga. The servicemen and women assigned to duty at recruitment offices should have the same right to carry and protect themselves as private citizens. These recruitment centers are where many brave young people choose to serve our nation and neither they nor those on duty should have to worry about their safety. By granting our heroes at recruitment centers the right to carry, we ensure that these centers continue the legacy of bolstering a strong national defense rather than making them a target for terrorist attacks."
That's not the only bill: Reps. Steve DesJarlais, R-Tenn., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., introduced a bill to repeal laws disarming service members on bases and in recruitment offices. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, quickly signed on.
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The Republican pressure continues on Planned Parenthood after the release of undercover videos purporting to show the organization illegally selling fetal tissue.
Eighty House members have co-sponsored a bill to strip the organization of all federal funding, including Georgia Republicans Lynn Westmoreland, Austin Scott and Buddy Carter. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, put out a statement saying he, too, wants to defund Planned Parenthood.
The issue is certain to come to a head in the appropriations debate as fodder for a possible government shutdown.
Georgia Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue also signed onto a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell requesting the department preserve all communications that could be part of a congressional investigation into the matter.
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