Posted on 03/03/2003 10:34:32 AM PST by from occupied ga
(Atlanta, Monday, March 3) -- A crucial vote in the Georgia State Senate Judiciary Committee on the SB1 substitute so-called "child endangerment" legislation was postponed for an unprecedented third time last Thursday until 4:30 pm this afternoon because of heavy pressure from people opposing the bill.
Over the weekend, CSG attorneys studying the latest SB1 substitute language confirmed it was a "stealth-type" triggerlock bill posing a major long-term threat to your right to keep and bear arms in Georgia.
Each time SB1 has been scheduled for a full committee hearing, pressure on committee members has become so intense that Chairman Sen. Charlie Tanksley (R-Marietta) postponed action to let the heat cool down.
If you called on SB1, you've helped in a grass-roots campaign that's pushed the politicians back against the wall. Senate bosses are mad about it and they've ordered Mr. Tanksley to start twisting arms.
"They've reverted to claiming SB1 is not a triggerlock bill because it doesn't specifically mention firearms," said CSG Legislative Director Bill Phillips. "This has been their stealth strategy from the get-go, and now they're falling back on it."
But CSG attorneys studying the SB1 substitute have reaffirmed it's a Stealth Triggerlock bill posing a grave threat to your gun rights.
The key is the "criminal negligence" language contained in SB1. This was the defining feature in the SB407 "Lock Away Your Gun" scheme by former State Sen. (now Congressman) David Scott (D-Atlanta) which failed in the Georgia House after passing the State Senate in 1998.
SB407 in 1998 defined "criminal negligence" as "wanton or reckless disregard for the safety of others."
The SB1 substitute defines criminal negligence as "willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the safety of others who might reasonably be expected to be injured thereby."
The SB407 "Lock Away Your Gun" bill would have made it a crime through criminal negligence to leave a pistol where a reasonable person should know a minor is likely to obtain access without permission.
The SB1 substitute "stealth triggerlock" bill simply makes it a crime if through criminal negligence a minor is injured or in danger of being injured.
The difference is, in order to include firearms without specifically mentioning them, the SB1 substitute is much broader and more far-reaching than SB407 ever was. SB1 not only forces you to lock up your guns, but your knives, household chemicals, tools, or anything with which a minor could get hurt in an accident.
SB1 is a big change from current statutes. The practical effect is people will ignore any such stupid law that means you have to lock up your guns so they're not ready for self-defense. That leaves you wide open for arrest by over-zealous or petty officials.
Prosecutors claim they won't abuse these new powers because they have to get re-elected. But they're misleading you because anti-gun officials in Atlanta or anywhere can confiscate unlocked guns from your car as you drive through. If you don't live there you can't vote against anybody in retaliation.
If you run afoul of abusive officials where you live, you might try to throw the culprits out, but many voters won't care since it didn't happen to them, and the officials will try to convince people there's something wrong with you.
Your best chance to stop this long-term far-reaching scheme for local officials to grab people's guns one-on-one is to defeat SB1 in the state legislature now. If it becomes law, it will be hard to repeal.
That's why you should contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today before 4:30 pm and object to the SB1 substitute Stealth Triggerlock bill.
ACTION ITEMS
Citizens for Safe Government, Inc.
P.O. Box 813764
Smyrna, GA 30081
csg@arms.org
This thing stinks like a two week old dead hog.
Please keep calling. The anti-gunners are counting on us losing interest and getting worn down.
FYI Mary Margaret Oliver who is probably the third most disgusting waste of a very large expanse of skin in Atlanta politics and one of the most fanatical haters of private firearms ownership in Atlanta is associated with Emory U.
The Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory University is involved in this also. Mary Margaret Oliver works there part-time as a visiting professor. It has major funding from the Blank Foundation, in fact, Dr. Patrice Harris, who has been testifying at the committee meetings, has a $94,000 grant from Mr. Blank to advocate this agenda. She is assisted by several interns, each paid $4,000 per internship year. The inside players have had a place at the table the last 3 years--but not us.
Y'all will note that the left wing elitist and ultra rich liberal, Arthur Blank, is footing the bill for a lot of this.
Thanks.
He doesn't own it; it's publically traded. However, he is one of the founders, has a LOT of the stock, and is active in the management today.
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