Pandering attempt ends in the woodshed
It didn’t take long after the Nov. 8 general election for over-reachers to overreach. It’s just too bad some of the over-reachers are here in the state of Georgia. On Monday, State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, (between Brunswick and St. Marys) pre-filed House Bill 3. The measure would bar applicants from wearing masks or veils while posing for their driver’s license picture. You can see where Spencer was going with this. It would also appear to make wearing the Muslim burqa and veil subject to the state’s anti-masking law, which would prevent wearing burqas anywhere on public property.
First problem: The Georgia Department of Drivers Services already prevents people from taking their photos with any sort of covering, veil or mask. Second problem: Spencer didn’t check with his Republican leadership. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Senate President pro tem David Shafer, R-Duluth, who is the No. 2 leader, told the AJC’s Jim Galloway, “The government has no business preventing Muslim women from wearing face scarves in public. Too many people on both sides of the religious freedom debate only want to protect freedom when it comes to their own beliefs.”
Why is Shafer’s statement important other than the fact that if it got to the Senate it would be dead on arrival? Shafer, in past sessions, has been a major proponent of religious liberty bills, and one would think he will sponsor a similar bill next session. And Shafer hopes to run for lieutenant governor in 2018.
Apparently, Spencer read the tea leaves because on Thursday he decided to withdraw his bill. Not because it wouldn’t pass constitutional muster, like many opponents said, but because, he said, political forces were too strong against it. In a statement quoted in the AJC, he said, “My objective was to address radical elements that could pose a threat to public safety. However, further consideration dictates that other solutions will need to be considered. ”
We have to wonder about Spencer’s thought process. If his bill was aimed at radicals, it would seem that not wearing a burqa when getting your driver’s license would be a very easy thing for a radical to do, since of course, it’s already restricted. Spencer’s obvious motive was to intimidate while garnering favor from those with an anti-Muslim bent. However, seems he failed in doing that, too, as the leadership of his own party took him to the woodshed.
This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Pandering attempt ends in the woodshed."