Opinion: Georgia Republicans were quiet about their attack on voting rights, but, oh, did they laugh
People wait in line for early voting at the Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Ga., on Oct. 12.
(Michael Holahan/The Augusta Chronicle via AP)
By Michelle Au
March 27, 2021 at 11:06 a.m. EDT
Michelle Au, a Democrat, is a Georgia state senator.
What struck me the most was the noise coming from all the wrong places.
This hastily sewn-together bill is a broad attack on voting rights. It includes imposing limits on the use of mobile polling places and drop boxes; raising voter identification requirements for casting absentee ballots; barring state officials from mailing unsolicited absentee ballots to voters; and preventing voter mobilization groups from sending absentee ballot applications to voters or returning their completed applications. The list goes on.
A discussion with Senator Michelle Au, actress Rosalind Chao, actress Tamlyn Tomita, and author/producer Jennifer 8. Lee for a discussion about the intersection of race, gender, the impact of stereotypes, and the AAPI woman experience.
New Georgia bills proposed following spa shootings would create waiting period for gun purchases
ATLANTA — Three new gun control bills in the Georgia legislature are a direct result of the killings of eight people last week at three spas in metro Atlanta.
The measures would require a five-day waiting period for gun purchases. They will also be next-to-impossible to enact this year.
About two dozen bills have been floating around the General Assembly this year that would either curb or expand gun rights. Not a single one of them has gotten a vote in the House or Senate.
Spa shootings could be first test of Georgia hate crimes law
The murder case against a white man accused of shooting and killing six women of Asian descent and two other people at Atlanta-area massage businesses could become the first big test for Georgia’s new hate crimes law.
ATLANTA — The murder case against a white man charged with shooting and killing six women of Asian descent and two other people at Atlanta-area massage businesses this week could become the first big test for Georgia’s new hate crimes law.
Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police that the attacks Tuesday at two spas in Atlanta and another massage business near suburban Woodstock were not racially motivated and claimed to have a sex addiction. Authorities said he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation but were still investigating his motive.
Because most of the victims were women of Asian descent, there’s skepticism of that explanation and public clamoring for hate crime charges, especially among the Asian American community, which has faced rising numbers of attacks since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
But, like many states, the Georgia law enacted last summer does not provide for a standalone hate crime, instead allowing an additional penalty when a person is convicted of another crime.
State Sen. Michelle Au Calls On Georgia To Do More To Protect Asian Americans
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