Vote NO on Amendment 2 – Against the children, for the $tripper$
Georgians have four proposed Constitutional amendment questions on their November ballots this November. I’ve already belabored the point of voting NO on Amendment 3 regarding the dissolution of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, but there is another of equal importance: Amendment 2 for the Safe Harbor Act.
What it will do:
- The Amendment will allow the state of Georgia to impose a $5,000 annual tax, a 1% of the gross revenue for the company – whichever is greater, on adult entertainment establishments.
- The money collected will be directed to a NEW bureaucratic commission responsible for funding victim rehabilitation.
- Georgia’s civil forfeiture practices will be expanded as law enforcement agencies will be able to seize additional assets of accused persons prior to a conviction.
A little background:
The legislation, and the enabling bill to place the measure on the ballot, was passed in 2015. I wrote about the legislation extensively beginning from the day it dropped, I was working at the Capitol at the time.
At one point, I called the legislation ‘The Most Dishonest Bill of the 2015 Session’ in one of my columns. I stand by the statement, and since it’s been 18 months since the legislation passed, I’m even more confident in that statement. Since the crusade against adult entertainment industries, not a single arrest relating to human or sex trafficking has been made at a strip club, or in the proximity of strip club. In fact, during the Committee Hearings for the bill, not a single victim testified that they were victimized at strip clubs. Each one noted the crimes were a result of the internet. If that’s the case, shouldn’t they be taxing the internet? (That’s sarcasm)
Just recently, the bill’s sponsor, Senator Renee Unterman admitted as much to the Macon Telegraph, ““People in the rural areas they say, ‘It doesn’t happen here.’ (But) it happens any place you got the internet. You got chat rooms and kids run away from home. Or they make an acquaintance in the chat rooms, and they get picked up,” she said.
Worse, this government-growing legislation was brought to you, in full, by House and Senate Republicans.
After the bill passed both chambers, before the Governor even signed it into law, the stripper lobby made it clear they would challenge the law – and they have a Constitutional basis to do so.
Why defeat of the Amendment is necessary:
The Amendment is being sold to the public as one that aid in the reduction of human trafficking in Georgia and an initiative that will protect children. The blunt reality is that THIS AMENDMENT WILL DO NEITHER. It simply does not have the capability to do such a thing. If a strip club is doing something illegal, local governments and law enforcement have the ability to sanction the establishment or shut them down. Imposing a tax and throwing money at a problem will not fix it.
More importantly – taxing an unrelated industry is immoral.
The State of Georgia already has too many governmental entities. There is no conservative argument to create a NEW Commission for the sole purpose of funneling money. Isn’t that the reason we already have dozens of anti-human trafficking non-profit organizations? I’m sure they have a better idea of how to allocate resources, anyway.
I can assure you, it isn’t a popular position to take, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the right position. Who wants to vote against children? Worse, who wants to be on the side of the strippers? I can assure you, it wasn’t me. But the precedent this sets is dangerous. We have a Republican majority in the House and Senate, but what happens when that changes? What happens when it’s gun shops or army surplus stores or health insurance companies or any other industry that’s directly affected by the $5,000 fee because some legislators disapprove?
This isn’t about being in favor of strip clubs. This is strictly about being pro-free market, pro-small government, and anti-taxation. What makes us so great? People can do things we don’t approve of and the world keeps turning.
The State of Georgia has no vested governmental interest, Constitutional or otherwise, in collecting money for human trafficking victims. If they did, they wouldn’t have to amend the Georgia Constitution in order to do it.
Send Georgia legislators a message and let them know that taxation isn’t a tool to punish what they don’t like. VOTE NO on Amendment 2 for the Safe Harbor Act on November 8th.
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Jessica Szilagyi
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THANK YOU! I’ve been saying the same things since the bill was dropped, but most people don’t see this the same way.
so, i read the substance of the proposed amendment here:
sos.ga.gov/admin/uploads/2016_Proposed_Constitutional_Amendments.pdf
but i didn’t see the piece that concerned me most per the post, which is the civil forfeiture piece.
any more info on that?
otherwise, this is just looks like a minor “sin” tax that should serve the more corollary purpose, which is to be a constant reminder to strip clubs of the potential penalties they could face for unlawful activity. it actually seems it may potentially protect dancers.
I don’t see it either. The language looks like it’s just trying to make things that are already illegal more illegal. Seems like you shouldn’t need a constitutional amendment for that.
I will always be mystified why trivial notions like this are allowed to be submitted for public referendum in Georgia. Many more meaningful issues that affect the everyday life of all, or at least the majority, never see the light of day.
The State should not be treading into the business of charities and churches. Charities and churches should not be treading into the business of the State. I believe Senator Unterman was also a sponsor of the legislation sending millions in state tax monies to “pregnancy clinics” that are in fact anti-abortion organizations. Organizations whose stock in trade is deception with false advertising. Even those who see these organizations as honorable should realize that they have the right to donate to them outside of having tax money diverted to their “charity”.
Hold on! There is nothing deceptive about what these organizations do and no false advertising. What in the world would lead you to believe that? I’ve not yet heard of one that lures young women in under false pretenses. You need to come up with specific examples or retract your statement.
Yes, pregnancy centers promote caring for your unborn child instead of killing it. Yes, some even share the Good News with their clients. They also provide other valuable support (emotional, life skills…etc) to pregnant women and families. Why shouldn’t there be state grants for helping mothers in these situations?
Full disclosure: I am on the board of one of these centers which you’ve disparaged.
Well, there have been court cases/lawsuits around the country where CPCs were found to be using deceptive advertising/signage and had to make changes to those practices…not aware of any here in Ga. There have also been cases where advertising practices have been upheld as legal.
I *do* recall (before your time) when local CPCs would get Yellow Pages listings (told ya it was before your time) under “Abortion Services” until there were complaints and a separate “Abortion Alternatives” section was added, and a notice was added to the “Abortion Services” section stating that the organizations in that section had confirmed that they provide/perform abortion services. Maybe you would know if there are still this type of requirement in the online advertising industry.
From what I understand most all of those cases were a product of not being very sophisticated and using old research. The whole CPC concept is fairly new one. An awful lot of the references in you link are also from different countries. There is now more effort and money behind making sure CPCs are more up to date (and accountable). They’ve come a long way.
As a relatively new category of services trying to get a phone book listing, I don’t doubt they were slid right in there with Abortion Services. As for today,when CPCs advertise, they normally focus on the mother that is pregnant and talk about the different services offered there. There are also overtones of choosing life. The idea is to be as caring and considerate of the mother’s situation as possible, not judge anyone.