At least a dozen lawmakers have removed their names from a proposal in the Georgia House that would require presidential and vice presidential candidates to prove they were born in the country.
Among representatives that removed their names were Jon Burns of Newington, Penny Houston of Nashville, Tom McCall of Elberton, Ann Purcell of Rincon and Ron Stephens of Savannah. All are Republicans.
“It’s just much more in depth than I originally anticipated,” Stephens said of dropping his support for a measure inspired by the “birther” movement, which believes President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Sponsor Mark Hatfield, R-Waycross, originally had 93 co-sponsors of House Bill 401. The measure first appeared in an elections subcommittee on Wednesday and is up for debate at the group’s next meeting.
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