News Flash! Open Letter to Governor Kemp
and the General Assembly

—“No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.”
Constitution of the State of Georgia, Article I, Section I, Paragraph II
—“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge … nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
– The Constitution of the United States, Article XIV, Section 1

Governor Brian Kemp
Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan
Speaker of the House David Ralston

Re: Hate Crimes Law, O.C.G.A. 17-10-17

Gentlemen:
Laws providing enhanced penalties for crimes against select members of society discriminate against the remaining members of society, and blatantly defy the Constitution of the State of Georgia and The Constitution of the United States.

Please do not allow passage of bills – including hate crimes bills – that violate the equal protection clauses of our constitutions, both state and federal.

Question: Does the 2004 opinion of Georgia’s seven-member (now nine-member) Supreme Court (judicial branch of government) override/eradicate/repeal the law introduced in 2000 as S.B. 390, which passed the 236-member General Assembly (legislative branch of government) and became Act No. 486, O.C.G.A. 17-10-17?

Fact: O.C.G.A. 17-10-17 introduced in 2000 as S.B. 390 is an equal protection, non-discriminatory law that, regardless of criminal/victim identity, authorizes enhanced penalties for crimes proven to be based on bias or prejudice.

Question: Can or will the Georgia General Assembly retain/reiterate/affirm/regard O.C.G.A. 17-10-17 as a valid constitutionally-compliant law?

Sincerely,
Sue Ella Deadwyler

Note: The above letter was mailed to the three officials on June 5, 2020.
The Georgia General Assembly reconvenes June 15, 2020!

Read more concerning the proposed hate crimes bill here.