Brian Kemp in Our Time Is Now: Power
On Abortion:
Fetal heartbeat bill: sonogram echoes at six weeks gestation
[As women protested outside the state capitol in Feb. 2019], lawmakers--mostly white, mostly men--argued over HB481, the proposed bill that would add Georgia to a growing list of states passing anti choice legislation. The authors had smartly tagged the
law as a "fetal heartbeat" bill, alleging, falsely that the echoes heard in a sonogram at six weeks amounted to proof of life. Under the new provisions, both the women and her doctor could face criminal penalties for any abortions--even if a woman
did not learn about her pregnancy until after the plan had been invoked or if a medical procedure led to a spontaneous abortion.
Despite scientific evidence and statewide outcries from worried women and outraged physicians, on May 7, 2019, Kemp
signed the bill into law. He exercised his prerogative as the governor of the state and in the process, went against the will of the majority of the people-49 % who opposed the law and 44% who supported it.
Source: Our Time Is Now, by Stacey Abrams, p.120-1
Jun 9, 2020
On Government Reform:
Removed 107,000 voters via "use-it-or-lose-it" law
The "use it or lose it" [voter policy] presumes that a failure to execute a right justifies taking it away. In 44 states, voters who failed to respond to a notice will be removed from the registration list if they do not vote, update their registration,
or take some other action specified by law from the time of the notice through two general federal election. No other right specified by our constitution permits the loss of a vote for failure to use it, to wit-- I do not lose my Second Amendment
right if I choose not to go hunting and I still have freedom of religion if I skip church now and then. Georgia secretary of state Brian Kemp strongly favored the "use it or lose it" power in Georgia, where he removed over 1.4 million voters in a
state with 6 million registered users. In July 2017, he removed more than half a million voters in a single day, reducing the number of registered voters in Georgia by 8%. An estimated 107,000 of these voters were removed through "use it or lose it".
Source: Our Time Is Now, by Stacey Abrams, p. 66
Jun 9, 2020
On Government Reform:
2010: Overturned local election by arresting black winners
Mayor Nancy Dennard described how then secretary of state Brian Kemp justified why she and 11 others faced 120 felony charges for winning an election in Southwest Georgia in 2010. Dr. Dennard [recruited] black women who got elected to The Brooks County
School Board. Angered by the unexpected wins, the rejected incumbents and their cronies reached out to Secretary Kemp. He responded aggressively to the false accusations of voter fraud, the only excuse the opponents could come up with to explain their
defeat. Kemp took up the cause of the losers and the conspiracy theories. He authorized The Georgia Bureau of Investigation--the state's version of the FBI--to pursue the matter. Agents invade their homes and officers arrested the duly elected school
board members and their supporters. The governor removed them from office, and several lost their employment, their reputations smeared. Years passed before their criminal trials commenced, and in the end, no voter fraud had occurred.
Source: Our Time Is Now, by Stacey Abrams, p. 70-72
Jun 9, 2020
On Immigration:
2012: Challenged voter status of newly-sworn-in citizens
The Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC) had hit upon the ingenious idea of coordinating with naturalization services to help serve newly sworn in citizens. But during the 2012 election cycle, new voters registered by the AALAC had been turned
away from polling places, their right to vote challenged by election officials. The AALAC's founder reached out to the secretary of state's office to find out why so many of those she'd signed up hadn't made it onto voting rolls, even though early
voting had started in Georgia. Rather than address the issue of eligible voters not being added to the rolls by election day, Secretary Kemp opened an investigation into the AALAC and its work, creating a cloud of suspicion over the group.
The accusations included a failure to properly secure permission from the registrants for their information or other technical issues. Kemp investigated AALAC for two years, then closed the investigation without a single finding of wrongdoing.
Source: Our Time Is Now, by Stacey Abrams, p. 54-5
Jun 9, 2020
Page last updated: Oct 09, 2021