Ga. Legislature shows little regard for free speech

An example of ALEC's work.

http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/03/26/ga-legislature-shows-little-regard-for-free-speech/

2:19 pm March 26, 2012, by Jay

Georgia Republicans like to talk about honoring and protecting the U.S. Constitution. But they are about to pass a law that blatantly violates one of its most important protections, the freedom of speech.

I’m not a fan of picketing or demonstrations at private residences; as a matter of policy and decency, family homes ought to be off-limits. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Frisby v. Schultz, agreed, with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor writing the majority opinion upholding a ban on demonstrations enacted by Brookfield, Wisc.:

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However, Senate Bill 469 is a very different animal. Sponsored by state Sen. Don Balfour, R-Gwinnett, the bill attempts to use O’Connor’s argument to justify a limited ban on picketing of private homes that “interfere(s) with the resident’s right of peaceful quiet enjoyment.” It’s that “limited” part that so clearly violates the Constitution.

Under SB 469, you see, the only people or groups that are banned from protesting outside private residences in Georgia are labor unions and union members.

As the bill’s sponsors have made very clear, SB 469 would still allow anti-abortion protesters to demonstrate outside the home of a physician or hospital executive. Environmental groups would still be able to protest outside the homes of company executives. Church groups could still protest outside the homes of strip-club operators.

Labor unions — and only labor unions — would be prevented from expressing their opinions in such a manner. And only company executives who might be targeted by such protests would be protected by the law. Everybody else is on their own.

Because that provision so blatantly discriminates against a particular point of view and against a particular group of people, it is also blatantly unconstitutional.

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The bill has already passed the Senate. This morning, in a surprise 9 a.m. committee meeting that wasn’t publicly announced until after 8 a.m., it was also approved by the House Industrial Relations Committee by an 8-1 vote. Democrats on the committee weren’t warned of the meeting beforehand, so only one managed to make the vote. (Another bill significantly cutting unemployment benefits for jobless Georgians was approved at the same time.)

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