If the House
leadership gets its way, H.B. 370
will put a damper on free speech in Georgia. This bill has already passed
the House and today it will come up in the Senate Ethics Committee. See
the special message below from Nathan Adams of Georgia Taxpayers United.
In essence, it squelches citizen groups from exposing politicians' voting records for six months leading up to an election. Any activist group that has an email list and wants to notify their followers to vote for or against a candidate, constitutional amendment or ballot referendum issue could fall under the State Ethics Commission oversight and be subject to sanctions/fines, etc. You'd be blocked from advocating for or against a candidate, constitutional amendment or ballot referendum within 180 days of an election. Read the bill and see expanded definitions here H.B. 370.
I guess they don’t
care that this violates the Georgia
Constitution to wit:
Paragraph V. Freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed. No law shall be passed to curtail or restrain the freedom of speech or of the press. Every person may speak, write, and publish sentiments on all subjects but shall be responsible for the abuse of that liberty.
H.B. 370 is scheduled for a hearing by the State Senate Ethics Committee Tuesday at 1pm in room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB). Attend if you can.
Contact the Committee members and ask them to reject this bill.
Sen. Dean Burke, Chairman - 404-656-0040
Sen. Michael Williams, Vice Chairman - 404-656-7127
Sen. Gloria S. Butler, Secretary - 404-656-0075
Sen. Ed Harbison - 404-656-0074
Sen. Bill Jackson - 404-651-7738
Sen. Rick Jeffares - 404-463-1376
Sen. William T, Ligon, Jr. - 404-656-0045
Sen. Josh McKoon - 404-463-3931
Sen. Butch Miller - 404-656-7454
Sen. Jesse Stone - 404-463-1314
Sen. Curt Thompson - 404-463-1318
Sen. Ben Watson - 404-656-7880
Protect your right to free speech by contacting the State Senate Ethics Committee and insisting that they OPPOSE H.B. 370, the “Gag Act.”
In defense of liberty,
Field Searcy
P.S. Spread the word by forwarding this email to your network and post the memes (graphics) in this email on Facebook and Twitter.
P.S.S. Below is a message from my friend Nathan Adams at Georgia Taxpayers United with email addresses for the Senators.
==================================
Dear Field,
Is Tuesday the day that free speech dies in Georgia? I sure hope not either, Field, but it could happen if H.B. 370 gets passed into law!
That is why ‘hope’ isn’t good enough--we must ACT. I will explain more in a moment, but first please contact the State Senate Ethics Committee and insist that they OPPOSE H.B. 370, the “Gag Act.”
Here are the email addresses that you can copy and paste:
dean.burke@senate.ga.gov; michael.williams@senate.ga.gov; gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov; ed.harbison@senate.ga.gov; bill.jackson@senate.ga.gov; rick.jeffares@senate.ga.gov; william.ligon@senate.ga.gov; jrm2016@yahoo.com; freespeech@gataxpayers.org; butch.miller@senate.ga.gov; jesse.stone@senate.ga.gov; curt@curtthompson.com; ben.watson@senate.ga.gov
And here is a message that you can edit and send:
Dear State Senators,
I am opposed to the unconstitutional Gag Act, H.B. 370, and insist that you vote “NO” on any motion to pass it out of your committee.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
You see Field, H.B. 370 is also known as the “Incumbent Protection Act” because it squelches groups like Georgia Taxpayers United from exposing politicians’ voting records for six months leading up to election.
It does so by forcing us to disclose our donor list to vindictive politicians at the state capitol in Atlanta. And when we refuse, we’ll be slapped with hefty fines and face potential prosecution.
Field, the courts have consistently ruled that this type of legislation is blatantly unconstitutional.
The whole purpose of ‘free speech’ is to be able to discuss politicians’ records on important issues during election season. But the politicians in Atlanta don’t care about your right to free speech--they just want an easy re-election so that they can continue raising your taxes and spending your money.
H.B. 370 is scheduled for a hearing by the State Senate Ethics Committee Tuesday at 1 P.M. in room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB).
Let’s kill this dangerous bill in committee before it’s too late.
For freedom,
Paragraph V. Freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed. No law shall be passed to curtail or restrain the freedom of speech or of the press. Every person may speak, write, and publish sentiments on all subjects but shall be responsible for the abuse of that liberty.
H.B. 370 is scheduled for a hearing by the State Senate Ethics Committee Tuesday at 1pm in room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB). Attend if you can.
Contact the Committee members and ask them to reject this bill.
Sen. Dean Burke, Chairman - 404-656-0040
Sen. Michael Williams, Vice Chairman - 404-656-7127
Sen. Gloria S. Butler, Secretary - 404-656-0075
Sen. Ed Harbison - 404-656-0074
Sen. Bill Jackson - 404-651-7738
Sen. Rick Jeffares - 404-463-1376
Sen. William T, Ligon, Jr. - 404-656-0045
Sen. Josh McKoon - 404-463-3931
Sen. Butch Miller - 404-656-7454
Sen. Jesse Stone - 404-463-1314
Sen. Curt Thompson - 404-463-1318
Sen. Ben Watson - 404-656-7880
Protect your right to free speech by contacting the State Senate Ethics Committee and insisting that they OPPOSE H.B. 370, the “Gag Act.”
In defense of liberty,
Field Searcy
P.S. Spread the word by forwarding this email to your network and post the memes (graphics) in this email on Facebook and Twitter.
P.S.S. Below is a message from my friend Nathan Adams at Georgia Taxpayers United with email addresses for the Senators.
==================================
Dear Field,
Is Tuesday the day that free speech dies in Georgia? I sure hope not either, Field, but it could happen if H.B. 370 gets passed into law!
That is why ‘hope’ isn’t good enough--we must ACT. I will explain more in a moment, but first please contact the State Senate Ethics Committee and insist that they OPPOSE H.B. 370, the “Gag Act.”
Here are the email addresses that you can copy and paste:
dean.burke@senate.ga.gov; michael.williams@senate.ga.gov; gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov; ed.harbison@senate.ga.gov; bill.jackson@senate.ga.gov; rick.jeffares@senate.ga.gov; william.ligon@senate.ga.gov; jrm2016@yahoo.com; freespeech@gataxpayers.org; butch.miller@senate.ga.gov; jesse.stone@senate.ga.gov; curt@curtthompson.com; ben.watson@senate.ga.gov
And here is a message that you can edit and send:
Dear State Senators,
I am opposed to the unconstitutional Gag Act, H.B. 370, and insist that you vote “NO” on any motion to pass it out of your committee.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
You see Field, H.B. 370 is also known as the “Incumbent Protection Act” because it squelches groups like Georgia Taxpayers United from exposing politicians’ voting records for six months leading up to election.
It does so by forcing us to disclose our donor list to vindictive politicians at the state capitol in Atlanta. And when we refuse, we’ll be slapped with hefty fines and face potential prosecution.
Field, the courts have consistently ruled that this type of legislation is blatantly unconstitutional.
The whole purpose of ‘free speech’ is to be able to discuss politicians’ records on important issues during election season. But the politicians in Atlanta don’t care about your right to free speech--they just want an easy re-election so that they can continue raising your taxes and spending your money.
H.B. 370 is scheduled for a hearing by the State Senate Ethics Committee Tuesday at 1 P.M. in room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB).
Let’s kill this dangerous bill in committee before it’s too late.
For freedom,
Nathan Adams,
President
Georgia Taxpayers United
Georgia Taxpayers United
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