Georgia Governor Roy Barnes steadfastly refuses to state his position on changing the state flag. However, on issues he favors, the Governor's success in getting bills passed through the legislature is legendary. A virtual legislative magician, the Governor's strong party support assures victory on issues he deems important; the flag issue is obviously not one of them. He has declared this issue will not come up in this legislative session, because the votes to move it out of the Rules Committee and onto the floor, where it can be voted on, are not there. Lt. Governor Mark Taylor's position is embodied in his official statement, which is according to his press aide, Susan Lagana, "There is no groundswell of support to change Georgia's flag, and people do not see it as a priority."
Sponsor of HB 163, state representative Tyrone Brooks (D), echoes a similar need for the people to "demand it." He believes, "the individual citizen must get involved. It took 17 years to get Dr. King's holiday. It takes pressure from the public to get the legislature to respond. When they demand it; we respond."
Since, our elected representatives cannot do the right thing without an explicit public demand that they do it, we must create a groundswell to educate them on the issues. For their education on symbols, and why they should change the state flag, we are directing members of the Rules Committee and other state legislators to consult the 10th grade wisdom of Crystal Clemons and her flag campaign page at http://home.att.net/~yicim/flagcamp.html. "When adopted by a state, a flag is supposed to be inclusive; it should symbolize every Georgian." We stand behind her assertion 100%. It is time our state adopted a symbol that is not divisive, but rather a symbol around which all Georgians can rally. For us the bottom line is, if we cannot change the flag, which is a symbol, we cannot change anything of substance!
We are asking every one to take a stand. Contact Governor Roy Barnes, Lt. Governor Mark Taylor and members of the Rules Committee today. Let them know today, we want to be one Georgia!
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Gov. Roy Barnes (D) |
404-656-1776 |
404-657-7332 |
Governor@gov.state.ga.us |
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Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor (D) |
404-656-5030 |
404-656-6739 |
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Rules Committee Member |
Voice |
Facsimile |
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Calvin Smyre (D) |
404-656-5024 |
404-657-8278 |
csmyre@inet.ga.us |
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Jimmy Skipper (D) |
404-656-5024 |
404-657-8278 |
jskipper@americus.net |
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LaNett Stanley-Taylor (D) |
404-656-5024 |
404-657-8278 |
lstanley@legis.state.ga.us |
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Lynn Westmoreland (R) |
770-251-5397 |
770-487-6625 |
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Jimmy Benefield (D) |
404-656-6801 |
404-657-0499 |
jbenefie@legis.state.ga.us |
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Thomas Buck, III (D) |
404-656-5103 |
thomasbuck@legis.state.ga.us |
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Mark Burkhalter (R) |
770-418-9098 |
770-418-9669 |
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Roger Byrd (D) |
404-656-9198 |
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RbandA@Aol.com |
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Tom Campbell (R) |
404-656-0152 |
tcampbell@legis.state.ga.us |
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Buddy Childers (D) |
404-656-5141 |
404-657-0498 |
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Jack Connell (D) |
404-656-5072 |
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jconnell@legis.state.ga.us |
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J. Max Davis (R) |
404-373-3316 |
404-373-3318 |
mdavis@legis.state.ga.us |
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Scott Dix (R) |
770-925-0111 |
770-925-8597 |
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Earl Ehrhart (R) |
770-437-7536 |
770-432-1146 |
eaeh@facilitygroup.com |
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Dorothy Felton (R) |
404-252-4172 |
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Felton@mindspring.com |
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Ray Holland (D) |
404-656-0298 |
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rholland@legis.state.ga.us |
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Bob Holmes (D) |
404-880-8089 |
404-880-8090 |
bholmes@cau.edu |
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Newt Hudson (D) |
404-656-5115 |
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Bob Irvin (R) |
770-643-5157 |
770-645-7158 |
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Anne Mueller (R) |
404-656-0109 |
amueller@legis.state.ga.us |
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Bobby Parham (D) |
404-656-5132 |
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Butch Parish (D) |
404-656-5096 |
lparish@legis.state.ga.us |
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Charlie Smith, Jr. (D) |
404-651-7737 |
Iwrk4u@eagnet.com |
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Steve Stancil (R) |
770-926-4482 |
770-591-2248 |
stancil21@aol.com |
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Doug Teper (D) |
404-264-0390 |
404-657-4868 |
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Larry Walker (D) |
404-656-5024 |
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lwalker@inet.legis.state.ga.us |
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