Category Archives: Newsletters

March 2018 Newsletter

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10 Good Bills Worth Watching

Bill #1 – Prohibit “Safe Spaces” that Deny Freedom of Speech
S.B. 339 Free Speech Policy for University System, introduced by Senator William Ligon, passed the Senate 33-19 on February 26th. It would require the board of regents to develop and adopt a policy to prohibit practices and plans that curtail or restrain the freedom of speech or the press and include penalties for violations. After a year, the board would report annually to the public, governor, and General Assembly on September 1st. The report must list any barriers that curtailed or restricted free speech, along with the nature of controversies and difficulties that occurred. The report may include recommended changes to rectify related problems.

ACTION – Support. Call House Judiciary Committee Representatives Willard, Ch., 404 656-5125; Fleming, V-Ch., 656-0152; Kelley, Sec., 657-1803; Beskin, 656-0254; Caldwell, 656-0152; Golick, 656-5943; Hanson, 656-0325; Powell, 656-5103; Rutledge, 656-0254; Welch, 656-5912; Nix 656-5146 (Ex officio). (These are the 9 Republicans on the 16-member committee.)

  • To read about the other nine bills in PDF format, please click here.

February 2018 Newsletter

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OPPOSE the ERA, It has Dire National Consequences

The ERA does not mention women; it does not put women in the U.S. Constitution. The ERA puts the word “sex” in the U.S. Constitution.

H.R. 969, introduced in the Georgia General Assembly January 29, 2018, is an attempt by Democrats to ratify a federal Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Georgia. Almost 50 years after it was introduced in 1923, Congress passed ERA, a proposed constitutional amendment, in 1972. Since constitutional amendments must be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the 50 states, a seven-year time limit for ratification was attached to the proposal. At the end of seven years, only 35 states had ratified ERA, leaving them three states short of ratification. During a three-year time-limit extension, no other state ratified ERA and, thankfully, it failed.

ACTION – OPPOSE H.R. 969. Call House Judiciary Committee Representatives Willard, Ch., 404 656-5125; Fleming, V-Ch., 656-0152; Kelley, Sec., 657-1803; Beskin, 656-0254; Caldwell, 656-0152; Golick, 656-5943; Hanson, 656-0325; Powell, 656-5103; Rutledge, 656-0254; Welch, 656-5912; Nix 656-5146 (Ex officio). (These are the 9 Republicans on the 16-member committee.)

  • To read the rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.

January 2018 Newsletter

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Good Bills to Support in 2018

S.R. 587, Declare English Georgia’s Official Language by Senator Josh McKoon
S.R. 613, Declare English Georgia’s Official Language by Senator David Shafer

Both bills propose a constitutional amendment to declare in the Constitution of the State of Georgia that English is this state’s official language as specified in a 1996 Georgia law. Meaning, if passed, English must always be the language used in any official state action which binds or commits Georgia or gives the appearance of presenting official state views. Since 1996 that has been a legal requirement, but it has not been reflected in the State Constitution.

Three critical reasons for declaring English the state official language emerged during the S.B. 519 debate 22 years ago. Those statements are even more relevant in this effort to memorialize the law in the Constitution of the State of Georgia. Those reasons are as follows:

(a) If society is to thrive and communicate at an “optimum level,” we must speak a common language.
(b) Society is recognizing so many cultures that few common interests remain.
(c) Language is the easiest interest to keep in common.

ACTION – SUPPORT S.R. 587 and S.R. 613. Call Rules Committee Senators Mullis, Ch., 404 656-0057; Hill, V-Ch., 656-5038; Millar, Sec., 463-2260; Albers, 463-8055; Butler, 656-0075; Cowsert, 463-1366; Gooch, 656-9221; Henson, 656-0085; Kennedy, 656-0045; Miller,656-6578; Shafer, 656-0048; Tate, 463-8053; Thompson, 463-1318; Tippins, 657-0406; Unterman, 463-1368, and Wilkinson, 656-5257.

  • To read the rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.

December 2017 Newsletter

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19-Year-Old Markets Marijuana-laced Snacks in Metro Schools

“This dude set everything up as a business, targeting high school kids.”
– A Fulton County School Parent

Addea Simmons, 19-year-old baker, marketer, and seller, living with his parents, used a Trill Treats Instagram page to market THC-laced edibles for $100. Personal delivery is $5 more.
Simmons uses his Instagram page to ask students for their high school name, and receives notes such as this, “You need more people selling at Westlake. One person keep (sic) selling out in the morning.” To that he replied, “I have two more people up there beside the one girl.”

Last summer a group of metro teenagers attended a Sweet 16 birthday sleepover at a Cobb County hotel. Parents in the next room served as chaperons. A parent reported that, after midnight, one of the girls began hallucinating “having little fits,” kind of scratching herself. Paramedics said the 16-year-old was having seizures and rushed her to the emergency room, where she recovered.

The kids had ordered $100 worth of pot-infused snacks online from Trill Treats and had them delivered directly to the hotel. One of the parents said, “They had 10 of these containers and there wasn’t a morsel left.”

After alerting law enforcement about their plan, a member of the FOX 5 I-Team became a Trill Treats Instagram follower and placed an order to be delivered to them in a Douglasville shopping center parking lot. Simmons made the delivery and explained, “I started in high school doing this. So, when I graduated people knew about it and I kept people selling for me.”

The FOX I-Team bought 12 homemade brownies from Simmons and took them to Salvus Labs that brought in Clinical Lab Consulting. Reportedly, the brownies were laced with high-potency THC, at least three times the accepted dosage in pot-legal states like Colorado.

Result: Two months later, Douglasville police and Fulton County police conducted their own sting, since Simmons lives in Fairburn. Simmons is now in jail, held without bond and faces three felony counts in Douglas County and two in Fulton County, where he’s charged with two counts of selling a Schedule 1 controlled substance containing pure THC. Fulton County seized boxes of baking items and over a dozen crock pots from the family residence.

  • To read the rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.