Georgia lawmakers advanced a bill imposing harsher penalties on protesters who block roads and highways Monday, sending it to the governor’s desk. It’s a measure that some Republicans claim is necessary to ensure the public’s safety, but many Democrats say they worry the change could enable the government to more easily crack down on free […]
Rep. Noel Williams Jr., a Cordele Republican who sponsored Senate Bill 443 in the House, called the measure “a protection bill for Georgians.” Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder
Georgia lawmakers advanced a bill imposing harsher penalties on protesters who block roads and highways Monday, sending it to the governor’s desk.
It’s a measure that some Republicans claim is necessary to ensure the public’s safety, but many Democrats say they worry the change could enable the government to more easily crack down on free expression. It passed the House Monday in a 96-69 vote that fell largely along party lines.
Georgia House, Senate advance bills that critics say could curb ability to protest
Senate Bill 443, sponsored by Cordele Republican Sen. Carden Summers, would make obstructing a road or highway a high and aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $5,000. Those who are found to violate the law could also be held liable for the costs incurred as a result of the protest.
Rep. Noel Williams Jr., a Cordele Republican who sponsored the bill in the House, called the measure “a protection bill for Georgians.”
“Basically all we’re trying to do is protect our citizens,” he said. “You think about mothers trying to pick their kids up from work. You think about ambulances trying to get through, you think about people in need and they’re obstructed from getting to their place of action.”
But House Democrats pushed back against the measure, with House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley of Columbus drawing comparisons to Bloody Sunday, a march held in Selma, Alabama in 1965 that helped galvanize national support for the Civil Rights Movement. Rep. Park Cannon, an Atlanta Democrat, argued that the bill could make it harder for workers to advocate for better conditions.
“Historically, labor movements have relied on public demonstrations — sometimes disruptive ones — to bring attention to injustice,” Cannon said. “Under this bill, a worker standing in the street to demand fair treatment could face not just arrest, but also criminal penalties.”
She also highlighted the impact the bill could have on protests against immigration enforcement efforts, drawing comparisons to protests against the creation of a massive immigration detention center in Social Circle.
Additionally, several lawmakers argued that the provision imposing civil penalties on protestors could chill free expression.
“Civil liability changes the nature of the right itself,” said Rep. Karla Drenner, an Avondale Estates Democrat. “It turns a constitutional right into a financial risk calculation, and that is a line we should be very careful about crossing.”
But Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, a Powder Springs Republican who earlier this session introduced a separate measure heightening penalties for some protestors, argued that Democrats’ concerns about restricting free speech were overblown.
“I haven’t seen anything in the bill that criminalizes advocacy,” she said, adding that protestors “can engage in free speech and protest activities, as long as it’s within the confines of the law.”
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