The Court today ruled that law enforcement officials in Georgia do not need to waste their resources trying to enforce HB 1059's bus stop provision.  This is because, at this time, there is nothing to enforce.

We are in this mess because HB 1059 was a sloppily written and counterproductive law. It was intended to destroy lives by forcefully evicting thousands of Georgians from their homes, and that would have made all of us less safe in the process.  The Court's decision today saved us from such a disaster.

Majority Leader Jerry Keen's law was so badly written that it forced Georgia's 159 sheriffs to waste thousands of hours and thousands of dollars trying to enforce this unenforceable law.   That is time away from 911 calls, away from the vital everyday functions of law enforcement.  It was a waste and it was Majority Leader Keen's fault.

The Order also said that if a local school board wants to force people like Wendy Whitaker -- who is on the registry for one consensual act of oral sex with a classmate when she was in high school -- out of their homes, they must take additional steps before doing so. The Court made it clear that school boards do not have to take such a drastic step.  In fact, it warned that school boards rushing in to designate bus stops "may only result in delay, confusion, and inconsistent actions."

We agree: the function of school boards is to make our schools function, not to act as the police.  It's up to the sheriffs to protect public safety, and the sheriffs have made it clear they don't like having to throw people like Joseph Linaweaver – who is on the registry for having one-time consensual sex when he was 16 with his 15 year old girlfriend -- out of their homes.

We have all seen how public opinion on HB 1059 turned completely around.  In just over a month, we have gone from the Governor defending a law that most people thought was a good idea to the Governor's own lawyers backing away from a law that everyone now knows is a disaster.  One reason for the 180 degree turnaround is because people were surprised to learn that people like Wendy Whitaker and Joseph Linaweaver are on the registry.

Another reason for this shift in public opinion is that people started to learn how counterproductive residency restrictions are to public safety.  The State's own expert during the Preliminary Injunction hearing agreed that residency restrictions that destabilize people are bad for public safety.  The Georgia Parole Board's own studies agree.

To read Judge Cooper's Order, click here.