Georgia

MACARD

(105 posts) Wed Mar 14, 2012, 04:08 PM Mar 2012

Liberty what Liberty

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/news/2012/03/01/sb-469-would-make-civil-disobedience-a-felony-in-georgia.html

(APN) ATLANTA -- SB 469, an anti-union and anti-protest bill, would turn nonviolent civil disobedience into a felony punishable by imprisonment for one year and a fine of ten thousand dollars for organizations and one thousand dollars for individuals. It also has provisions intended to weaken unions.

The bill was introduced by State Reps. Don Balfour (R-Snellville), Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton), Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), and Ross Tolleson (R-Perry). All four Senators are members of an organization called the American Legislative Exchange Counsel (ALEC). ALEC bring corporations and lawmakers together to draft template legislation that is introduced in other states to change policy. ALEC claims to be nonpartisan but is funded by several right-wing thing tanks.

"In a state which lays credible claim to being the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, State Senators Don Balfour, Ross Tolleson, Bill Hamrick, and Bill Cowsert have just demonstrated palpable disrespect for Georgia’s rich history of protest and activism. They are the sponsors of Senate Bill 469 which, had it been law in 1960, would have made Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, John Lewis, Joe Beasley, Minnie Ruffin, and many other luminaries of the Civil Rights Movement into felons," Sara Amis of Occupy Atlanta, wrote in a blog post.

"The way they are handling these extreme bills like SB 469 prohibiting protest which they know is unconstitutional, but they want to send a message and try to throw everyone off track,” Larry Pellegrini of the Georgia Rural Urban Summit, told Atlanta Progressive News.

Join the protest rally! All Georgia citizens should attend!

Sat. March 17 at 11:00 A.M. Georgia Capitol

remember the story of the hangman, if we do not stand up now, no one will stand up for us when we are the ones to be hanged.