Thursday, April 3, 2008
News Parliamentary strategy pays off for minority party
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 1:13 PM
You have to appreciate when the underdogs manage to slip one over on their oppressors. That's what happened around 5 p.m. in the state Senate, when confused Republicans tabled their own bill to allow folks to carry guns on MARTA trains and into restaurants.
Let's back up. HB 257 – which should not be confused with the notorious "guns in parking lots" bill – would allow judges, retired federal marshals, DAs and a few other law-and-order types, to carry firearms into public buildings, such as courthouses.
Sen. John Douglas, R-Social Circle, the bill's Senate sponsor, floated an amendment to allow guns to be carried on public transportation and in restaurants where alcohol is served – currently prohibited under state law – provided the gun-toter does not imbibe.
Then Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, proposed a long amendment to require universities to establish emergency procedures for dealing with a shooting. Since the lack of such a plan was one of the criticisms leveled at Virginia Tech in the wake of last year's classroom shootings, GOP senators didn't blink while voting in favor of Fort's amendment.
Suddenly, however, the Senate parliamentarian pointed out that, with its new amendments, the bill had doubled in length and, per a fairly obscure rule, must be set aside and added to the next day's general calendar.
In other words, the bill would not resurface for a vote until Friday, when it could be buried in a frenzied, last-day calendar.
A motion to reconsider Fort's amendment passed, but the bill was quickly tabled while Senate Republicans try to figure out how to salvage the bill. As of this writing, it's in limbo, but it could come back up later tonight...
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