Former attorney general Michael Bowers has argued that Georgia's law prohibiting masked Klan members could be threatened.
But Lynn Hogue, Georgia State University’s constitutional scholar, sought a less inflammatory example of an unintended consequence that could arise from S.B. 129, the “religious liberty” bill now lodged in the house.
So Hogue chose stores that sell sex toys.
In an interview with Denis O’Hayer on WABE (90.1FM)’s new afternoon news program, “A Closer Look,” Hogue said the retailer of X-rated merchandise could seek a leg-up in a zoning dispute simply by claiming sex to be a part of his or her religion.
Listen to the conversation here. But this is the essence of what Hogue was driving at:
"So essentially, anybody can say, 'I've had this private revelation, and I believe this and this is my religion.' And that seemingly triggers protection under the law.
"That kind of open-ended differentiation and special privileging of religious claims is what is really the basis for fearing that this law will get us into a lot of unintended consequences that I don't think are getting adequately discussed."
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Hardened activists from the Georgia chapter of the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity gathered at the statehouse this morning to hear from Gov. Nathan Deal on jobs, education and reducing the size of government.
Not surprisingly, the House's proposal to raise more revenue for transportation was not on Deal's list of talking points. But neither was it brought up by members of the conservative group in the morning session with Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Deal used his speech to try to win over the group's members on his plan to give the state new powers to take over struggling school districts.
Said Deal, to applause:
"The establishment has not solved the problem. Why should I care? I'm not going to run again. And I seriously doubt that very many of the families of the children trapped in the failing schools have ever voted for me or any other republican. We don't gain anything politically by this. But we make our state better. And that ought to be the purpose of every one in public office."
The governor met with President Barack Obama during his visit to Atlanta yesterday to give him a crash course on the same proposal.
“I told him what we were doing with the Opportunity School District, and if we get it passed, we’re probably going to call on him to help with it.”
Asked about the president’s reaction, the governor said Wednesday he only had a few minutes with Obama.
"I don't know that there's any federal funding that would be associated with that. Right now I'm not aware of any. But my main focus was to thank him for putting money in the budget for deepening the port of Savannah and convey to him the message that we need a whole lot more."
***
Georgia Tech graduate David Perdue was not in attendance at Obama's shindig Tuesday -- the U.S. Senate was in session -- but the Georgia Republican senator did send along his appreciation for Obama's spotlighting his school. Perdue also took the opportunity to attack the president's approach to student borrowing:
"Yellow Jackets know that Georgia-based problems should be fixed with Georgia-based solutions. I will continue to fight against Washington's power-grab over our education system and fight to bring down college costs for everyone."
Perdue's fellow Georgia Republican senator, Johnny Isakson, took a much more conciliatory tone, based on common ground he found in Obama's speech:
"I encourage President Obama to sit down at the table and work directly with Congress to find solutions that truly make both higher education and career and technical education attainable to all."
***
If we weren't up against Day 30, you might see this being debated in our Legislature. From the Associated Press:
The Republican-controlled state Legislature gave final approval to the proposal Tuesday night, with lawmakers billing it as a backup plan as states struggle to find execution drugs amid a nationwide shortage.
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Columnist Charlie Harper has coined a new, unkind phrase for the state Capitol's anti-tax groups in his assessment of last week's House vote on H.B. 170:
But as has become custom, many of the usual suspects held their participation in the process until after the committee's report was released and subsequent bill was filed. Then, on cue, the Purity for Profit brigade formed the usual bucket lines in order to throw cold water on the effort.
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Georgia's Republicans were among the multitudes in Congress raising hackles about a proposed regulation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to limit armor-piercing AR-15 bullets. Well, the ATF backed down. From The Hill:
"The vast majority of the comments received to date are critical of the framework, and include issues that deserve further study," the agency said in a statement. "Accordingly, ATF will not at this time seek to issue a final framework."
The National Rifle Association (NRA), which launched a campaign against the ban immediately after it was proposed last month, declared victory.
***
You'll be hearing a lot about the 10th anniversary of Brian Nichols' murderous rampage through the streets of downtown Atlanta today.
Lesser known is his bizarre attempt to break out of prison years after he was apprehended. From a 2011 story by one of your Insiders:
Brian Nichols' elaborate plot included sawing through cinder block walls, fleeing on Thanksgiving Day because the guards would be sluggish from feasting and leaving a faux breadcrumb trail to throw off authorities, according to investigative documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
The scheming involved at least four people — a pen pal who became his girlfriend, a deputy at the jail, a paralegal who worked on his case and Nichols' brother.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, whose agents spent countless hours investigating, closed the case Wednesday. The file, which included thousands of pages reviewed by the AP, noted that prosecutors chose not to press charges.
Nichols' girlfriend, Lisa Meneguzzo, played a key role in the plot, coming up with cash, writing letters to Nichols and doing research for him, according to the document. Fulton County prosecutors granted her immunity in return for her cooperation, preventing her from being charged.
The deputy, David Ramsey, admitted accepting at least $100 from Nichols' girlfriend and used money she sent one of his friends to buy a DVD player, according to the documents. But he told authorities he took the money to keep Nichols' cell phone charged and to buy the inmate snacks from a vending machine, not to help in the escape. He told them he thought Meneguzzo was "crazy."
***
We are late to the topic, but on Monday, U.S. Rep. John Lewis was on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" for a debriefing on his weekend in Selma, Ala. It's worth the click to check it out.
***
Speaking of Selma, we now have to wonder why Cinderella wasn't there, given director Kenneth Branagh's instructions to Lily James for playing the downtrodden stepsister in the Disney classic. From the Associated Press:
Branagh encouraged James to read Mohandas Gandhi's works and other writings on spiritual journeys to prepare for her role, hoping that she could incorporate the idea of nonviolent resistance into the character.
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