Update Central: Georgia and South Dakota

I’ve been posting a lot lately about the Georgia legislature passing their version of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA] which allows anyone, anywhere, anytime, ever, to deny services to the LGBT community if they say they have a religious objection to The Gays. The Legislature even had no problem when told that their RFRA would protect the KKK because they prefer The Klan over The Gays, but …

After hearing from big business throughout the state, and their threats to pack up their companies and go, Georgia Governor, and, surprisingly, a Republican, Nathan Deal warned the lawmakers that he would reject the bill because he understands that these bills do more harm than good … to the state at least.

Deal called on the Legislature to change the proposal, which has passed the Georgia Senate, but also made it clear that he wouldn’t be if a changed bill failed to pass into law:

“It’s not on my agenda item. It’s not one of those issues that I have been pushing.”

And then he said that he objected to the measure because, wait for it, it’s pure gold, the Bible told him so; yes, the very Bible that conservatives use as a weapon of mass discrimination is the same Bible that Nathan Deal used as a reason why this RFRA should never pass:

“We do not have a belief in my way of looking at religion that says we have to discriminate against anybody. If you were to apply those standards to the teaching of Jesus, I don’t think they fit. [We] have a belief in forgiveness and that we do not have to discriminate unduly against anyone on the basis of our own religious beliefs. We are not jeopardized, in my opinion, by those who believe differently from us. We are not, in my opinion, put in jeopardy by virtue of those who might hold different beliefs or who may not even agree with what our Supreme Court said the law of the land is on the issue of same-sex marriage. I do not feel threatened by the fact that people who might choose same-sex marriages pursue that route.”

And then Nathan Deal said that he and his wife Sandra believe in “traditional marriage” between a man and a woman:

“But that does not mean that those who hold to that view should feel like they are threatened by those who have a different point of view. I hope that we can all just take a deep breath, recognize that the world is changing around us, and recognize that it is important that we protect fundamental religious beliefs,” he said. “But we don’t have to discriminate against other people in order to do that. And that’s the compromise that I’m looking for.”

Yup; he has a right to believe in “traditional” marriage but at least he understands that the law is the law, and that the Bible, and the Baby Jeebus, do not believe in discrimination … and neither should Georgia.

Now, onto South Dakota, where the legislature there was the first in the country to pass legislation that made it a crime for a transgender student to be in a bathroom or locker room that did not match with the gender listed on the trans person’s birth certificate.

 But then South Dakota’s governor, surprisingly, another Republican, Dennis Daugaard, vetoed the bill and asked that the House not try to override him.

And last week, the South Dakota House of Representatives did in fact fail override Daugaard’s veto; supporters needed a two-thirds vote, but failed by a margin of 36-29.

Good on Governor Daugaard and good on South Dakota, for teetering on the verge of legislating intolerance, and then walking back from the precipice.

Georgia

South Dakota

Georgia, Reap What Ye Have Sown

I was strolling around the web yesterday and found this story and, sadly, my first thought was, "Well, that didn’t take long."

A mere few days after Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a new gun bill into law — which allows one to carry a concealed weapon just about anywhere in the state, save anywhere near Nathan Deal’s office — a gun nut has come out of the woodwork to terrorize children at a Little League game.

He walked around the parking lot at the game, showing his gun to parents and children, and shouting:

“There’s nothing you can do about it.”

One parent complained about him brandishing his weapon, asking children if they wanted to see it, while he raged on and on about how he had every right to do so. He knew he was frightening people; I mean, who in their right mind … and I know this is Georgia, but there’s bound to be some folks in their right mind … wouldn’t be afraid of a man waving a gun in the air?

And there were some sane folks in the park that day; there were two dozen 911 calls to local police about the lunatic with the gun at the ball field, but there was nothing the police could do about it because he had a permit and wasn’t actually threatening anyone.

Not threatening anyone? Hmm, a guy in a park, waving around a gun isn’t seen as a threat? I guess he’d have to actually shoot someone before anyone would take it seriously.

And say there was yet another gun nut in the park that day — again, it’s Georgia, it's not that far-fetched — and say that gun nut was there with his family. And say that gun nut thought the first gun nut was a threat? Would he have the right to shoot? Or do we wait for Gun Nut #1 to begin firing into a crowd of children before the other gun-toting, pistol-packing, armed Georgians step forward and start shooting?

This is America, people, where the GOP is owned by the NRA and they have become the beck-and-call girls to the gun lobby. It’s an America where it’s perfectly fine just to wander through a park, down a city street, into a church, or school, or bar, or shopping mall, waving a gun around and telling people they can’t do a thing about it.

Is that the America any rational person wants?

Georgia To Allow Guns In Bars, Airports. Churches Schools and Government Buildings

Every so often we get one of these Southern states — and, yes, it is mostly Southern or Southwestern states — passing a ridiculous law that leaves most sane people scratching their heads.

Arizona’s anti-immigrant Show Me Your Papers nonsense fed into their failed Don’t Serve The Gays Because The Baby Jeebus Said So bill, which gave us Mississippi’s newly passed Don’t Serve The Gays Because The Baby Jeebus Said So and now we have the new legislation signed into law by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal: the Guns Everywhere bill, AKA the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014.

Safe? Hardly; the new bill allows residents who have concealed carry permits to take guns into some bars, churches, school zones — though not on college campuses; government buildings — though not the state Capitol where Governor Deal has his office; and certain parts of airports. Churches and bars, however, will be able to determine for themselves if they’ll allow worshippers or drinkers to come inside their buildings armed.

But still, guns in schools, airports and government buildings are safe?

Deal’s signing of the bill was held at a picnic, and opened with a prayer — hopefully a prayer that no one mentally disturbed carries a gun into a church or airport, or a picnic — the singing of the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance. Hundreds came out for the signing, many carrying their guns and proudly displaying their NRA hats and buttons with ignorant sayings like, “Guns Save Lives.”

Safe. Not at all. The bill allows hunters to use silencers and suppressors when the owner of the property where they're hunting is aware they're using that device;  the bill allows former gun owners who have had their licenses revoked to apply for a new license after three years; the bill allows “restricted” access — whatever that means — for anyone whom a court has deemed mentally incompetent or insane, or anyone involuntary committed to a mental institution; the bill allows the carrying of firearms by any "duly authorized official of a public or private elementary or secondary school or a public or private technical school, vocational school, college, university, or other institution of post-secondary education or a local board of education;" the bill forbids any police officer who sees a resident carrying a gun from asking to see a gun permit unless the resident is committing a crime.

Safe.

While trumpeted by the asshatted gun crazed loons of the NRA, the bill was opposed by Georgia law enforcement, county commissioners, municipal leaders, and the Transportation Security Administration for its potentially harmful impact on Georgians' safety.

And there is at least one church that won't allow guns inside. The Ebenezer Baptist Church, where, in 1974, a deranged man with a gun entered the building and shot to death the deacon and Alberta Williams King, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s mother, in its sanctuary.

The Reverend Raphael Warnock, the church's senior pastor, believes the shooting might have been even more tragic "had everyone been packing that day” and then added:

"The message of today's bill signing is very clear: Our politicians, tragically, are owned by the gun lobby. No one asked for this bill but the gun lobby, and still, we're here. ... We will remind them in November that they work for the people."

Also of note is that deranged man entered the Ebenezer Baptists Church and shot to people to death had access to guns, but no access whatsoever to health care.

And what does that tell us? Our politicians, in Georgia, and around the country are more concerned with arming citizens with guns that arming citizens with healthcare.

Think about that the next time you step into a voting booth. And think about whether or not anyone else in the room has been legally authorized to carry their gun in with them.

source

Asshat Of The Week

U.S. Representative Nathan Deal, a Repugnant candidate for governor of Georgia, has proposed changing the long-standing federal policy that automatically grants citizenship to any baby born on United States soil.

Naturally, this move is opposed by immigrant rights advocates who say it won't solve the illegal immigration problem and goes against America's history of welcoming immigrants.

However, those fools who support Deal’s proposal say “birthright citizenship” encourages illegal immigration and makes enforcement of immigration laws more difficult.

Birthright citizenship is one of the ways this country was built; but not for those filthy Mexicans--because let's face it, if the influx of illegal immigration was from Canada, Deal wouldn't have an issue with this. It's outright bigotry.

Though drafted in 1868 with freed slaves in mind, birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment, which says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

Deal and his supporters say the 14th Amendment wording was never meant to automatically give citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants.

“This is a sensible, overdue measure that closes a clause that was never meant to be a loophole,” said Bob Dane, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which seeks tighter immigration restrictions.

I'm all for tighter immigration reforms, but when you still have Wet Foot, Dry Foot in Florida, how is that any different from birthright citizenship. For those who don't know, Wet Foot, Dry Foot refers to those who enter this country illegally via boat or pontoon or life raft. If they can get one foot on US soil, they are allowed to stay. They make a deliberate run to enter this country illegally and are allowed to stay, but a baby born here is treated far worse?

Azadeh Shahshahani, director of the Immigrants Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, said “We would stand in strong opposition to this bill as it’s in fundamental contradiction to our nation’s long history of welcoming immigrants and bestowing inalienable rights” on all people born here, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.

Lisa Navarrete, vice president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group, said the proposed law wouldn’t stem illegal immigration and would make the problem worse because not only would illegal immigrants be undocumented, their American-born children would be too. “The worst part of it is you end up with potentially millions of children who are stateless, who were born here and have no ties to any other country, yet they’re not considered citizens or part of the United States.”

Deal, who has submitted his bill to the House Judiciary Committee, said he’s not optimistic about it becoming law this year unless it is tacked onto another bill.
“I think the current makeup of the Congress is such that this will never get a hearing and will never be an issue that we get a chance to vote on....[b]ut I think it’s important to keep the issues that are part of the immigration problem alive.”

What you think important, Deal, is to keep your name in the news as free advertising for your campaign. Why not focus on what you can change, not what you can't.

Asshat.