Sunshine Week: State AG says huzzah, state Senate not so keen on free speech
We are closing out National Sunshine Week, a time when public officials are reminded to operate openly and transparently and embrace the spirit of the First Amendment. Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Carr marked the occasion, pledging that his department is dedicated to enforcing the state’s Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act.
So, it is troubling that Georgia lawmakers are considering legislation as the 2022 General Assembly winds down that threatens some basic tenets of free speech and government accountability.
On Tuesday, state senators passed a bill sponsored by Cataula Republican Randy Robertson that amounts to legislative law-and-order backlash to 2020’s protests for racial justice. Included in Robertson’s Senate Bill 171 is an expanded definition of “unlawful assembly” that would escalate potential charges and penalties for protesters. The proposed law would also erode public employees’ free speech and due process rights, and inflict other damage to First Amendment protections for Georgians.
Georgia Recorder guest commentator Nora Benavidez recently explained in detail how Robertson’s proposal is a potential threat to anyone in the state who wants to speak up for what they believe in.
Read more: https://georgiarecorder.com/2022/03/18/sunshine-week-state-ag-says-huzzah-state-senate-not-so-keen-on-free-speech/