Ga: urgent timely action needed - Now!

[WAGCEVP]

It was reported on Lawmakers this evening that the governor's child endangerment bill (SB 467) will be in the full Senate for a vote. Please call your senator and ask them to oppose this bill. Also, call your representative and ask them to do the same.

Here's a few talking points regarding the bill:


1. The language is so broad and vague that a prosecutor will determine what constitutes "criminal negligence." Citizens have the right to know what they're prohibited from doing.

2. Law-abiding, good parents could become felons for accidents due to unintended consequences.

3. You could be charged with a felony if you have a loaded firearm in your house and there is no trigger lock or it's not stored in such a way that it would be hard to obtain in an emergency or whatever way a prosecutor determines is safe.

4. If you are charged with cruelty to children that charge stays on your record FOREVER. How will that affect your obtaining employment,etc. Imagine your child is injured due to an innocent accident and you are charged with child cruelty. No one knows that it was due to an accident. All they see is "Cruelty to Children". Who is going to hire you? That will harm families and children economically.

5. According to prosecutors, 97% of their cases are plea bargained. Only 3% of the people charged would be fortunate enough to receive a jury trial. Those citizens who do not have money or prestige will likely be the ones who are forced to plea bargain.

6. Good parents already cringe at the thought of taking their children to the doctor or hospital if their child is injured. Will the possibility of being charged with a felony make them less likely to seek help in a timely manner?

7. Since the discretion is made by each individual prosecutor and not mandated in the legislation, this legislation would create unequal treatment under the law.

 

[Liberty.45ACP]

Not too late!

Ok fellow Georgians - this bill (SB 467) has passed through the Senate and is heading to the House. Contact your state rep and let them know the issues with this bill. We stopped it last year and can do it again. The bill needs to be amended to state that law-abiding gun owners won't be targeted, because having an unlocked gun for reasons of self-defense does not constitute criminal negligence.

It was stated by a Rep last year they the intend to target gun owners with this bill.

You can find you rep's contact info at: http://tinyurl.com/2mnch

Let's make sure they know where we stand!

 

[fix]

done.

 

[WAGCEVP]

Old news I know, just to let you know that CSG is on the move

----- Original Message -----
From: CSG
To:
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2004 7:29 PM
Subject: Child Bill Passes Senate


(Atlanta, Sunday, February 15) -- Gov. Sonny Perdue's "child safety" bill SB467 moved through the Georgia State Senate last week and passed Friday by a vote of 47-0.



SB467 is Gov. Perdue's revised version of the SB1 so-called "child endangerment" legislation that passed the Senate last year, but stalled out in the Georgia House on the last day of the 2003 session.



SB467 is greatly improved over the SB1 Stealth Triggerlock bill, thanks to the good work of you and the many other gun rights activists across Georgia who turned up the heat on the politicians last year.



Truth is, as the result of your e-mails, faxes, and phone calls, the anti-gun "childgrabbers" were forced to jettison the "child endangerment" section out of the bill altogether.



What remained, and is now moving forward as SB467, is a revision to the current child cruelty statute, adding an intermediate-level offense of 2nd-degree child cruelty, with the requirement that a child must actually be injured before somebody can be charged with it.



Your work forced the opposition to discard the "child endangerment" section which would have let anti-gun local officials come into your home or car and arrest you and confiscate your guns if they were unlocked and ready for self-defense. No injury to a child would have been required for you to go to jail.



The clear threat to your guns and right of self-defense posed by SB1 as it passed the State Senate last year is gone. It's proof that turning up the heat on the politicians really works if it's based on good information from the Capitol and done at the right time.



The politicians, and their cronies in the media, are still calling SB467 a "child endangerment" bill so they can get credit with voters, even that terrible part of the legislation has been dropped.



Gov. Perdue also included a provision in SB467 targeting people who injure children as a result of illegally manufacturing methamphetamine drugs. This section of the bill is not a gun rights issue.



The child cruelty language that just passed the State Senate in SB467 poses no immediate threat to your guns or right to self-defense. However, CSG is reviewing it again to double-check if over-zealous officials could use it to gain anti-gun court decisions threatening your gun rights in years to come.



SB467 now moves to the Georgia House for consideration. It could come up in the House Judiciary Committee this week or next. Stay tuned and ready for action pending the results of our review.

--

Citizens for Safe Government, Inc.

P.O. Box 813764

Smyrna, GA 30081



[email protected]