Campus Carry Legislation is Moving. The state House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday passed House Bill 859, sponsored by Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, on a 10-3 vote. The bill amends restrictions in state law that prohibit law-abiding Georgia Weapons License (GWL) holders from being able to protect themselves on college and university campuses.
HB 859 would allow law-abiding GWL holders to carry when he or she is in or on any building or real property owned by or leased to any public technical school, vocational school, college, university, or other institution of postsecondary education. It now goes to the Rules Committee where observers believe it will get a favorable vote and soon go to the House floor for an up-or-down vote.
Foreign Driver’s License bill under fire. State law already says that licensed drivers from nations with a reciprocal agreement with Georgia DDS are exempt from taking the Georgia Knowledge (written) and road tests for a driver’s license. However, in a surprise move, S.B. 320 adds language to law that says if a law enforcement officer cannot verify the validity of a foreign driver’s license, written in a foreign language, that license shall be presumed to be valid if the driver/bearer also:
* Comes from a country that participates in the visa waiver program and has in his possession a valid passport from that country with documentation evidencing lawful entry into the United States that is dated within 90 days of the date of the officer’s inspection of such license; or * Has in his immediate possession a nonimmigrant (temporary) visa and a valid passport from such country with documentation evidencing lawful entry into the United States that is dated within 12 months of the date of the officer’s inspection of such license; or
*Has an “International Drivers Permit” (An IDP is merely a translation of the foreign language DL into English). or
* Has in his or her immediate possession a certification in English that the nonresident driver’s license is valid from a foreign consular official – like a Mexican consular official in Atlanta – along with “documentation” showing lawful entry into the United States that is dated within 12 months of the date of the officer’s inspection of such license.
InsiderAdvantage has heard from immigration and law enforcement agents who oppose this change. A retired immigration enforcement officer from Brunswick who is sending letters to legislators, asks: “(If) well-trained … officers can miss counterfeit visas and altered passports, how could they expect street cops to perform this forensic procedure?” Other critics ask if lawmakers will now trust consular officials from nations that depend on their citizens to send money back home from the Georgia and the USA to assure our law enforcement personnel that a driver license is real and valid.
Right to Life Legislation Plods Along. The Personhood Amendment, by Rep. Brad Raffensperberger, R-Johns Creek, adds language to the state Constitution that recognizes personhood beginning at the moment of fertilization. It would require two-thirds majority vote in both chambers to pass and then would have to be ratified by voters on the next General Election ballot. Georgia Right to Life activists tell us that it was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee but “then got sent down to the Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Johnnie Caldwell. We thought we would get a hearing by this time, but it seems like progress has stalled.”
HB 713 is also authored by Raffensberger and allows a woman to terminate the parental rights of her rapist if a child was conceived during the assault. Often times, rapists will file for parental rights of the child conceived as a result of rape and use the case to force a woman to drop her rape charges against him. This bill would free women from the grip of their assaulter and help keep children safe from predators.
A GRTL statement says “we were scheduled for a full hearing in the House Juvenile Justice Committee for HB 713 two weeks ago, but were suddenly and surprisingly sent to Subcommittee. We spent a week just trying to determine which subcommittee it would be assigned to, and then finally had it assigned to the subcommittee chaired by Rep. Chuck Efstration. We had a great hearing last Thursday afternoon… (and) then goes to full committee on Friday afternoon, then, hopefully, be on its way to the House floor to pass just before Crossover Day. (Feb. 29).”
