During a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Burgess Owens spoke out about the audacity for Democrats, including President Joe Biden, to refer to Georgia’s new election laws as “Jim Crow Laws.” The hearing entitled, “Jim Crow 2021: The Latest Assault on the Right to Vote,” was to discuss the expansion of voting rights and compare Georgia’s newest election law to Jim Crow laws.
Owens first explains how “disgusting and offensive” it is to compare a state law that asks people to show their ID to actual voter suppression and violence. He shared his experience growing up during the Jim Crow era and explained how he was just 12 years old when his father allowed him to participate in protests with college students against segregation at the Florida State Theatre.
Owens shared that the intimidation of Black Americans by the KKK was initiated by the Democratic Party and talked about experiencing segregation in schools, bathrooms, gas stations, and at the polls. “Jim Crow laws like the poll tax, property tests, literacy tests, and bias and intimidation at the polls made it nearly impossible for black Americans to vote,” he adds.
Owens argues that Black misery “thrives” under the Democratic Party including a lack of education, lack of jobs, high crimes, and calls to defund the police. He mentions how Georgia’s new election laws do not promote the same systematic hurdles he encountered growing up.
Owens said the bill has brought so much outrage from the left for simply requiring evidence of a government-issued ID on their application, adding that 97% of Georgia voters already have a government-issued ID. He slammed opponents of voter ID laws and said it was “extremely offensive” how Democrats hijacked the bill and tried to turn it into a race narrative.
“What I find extremely offensive is a narrative from the left that black people are not smart enough, not educated enough, not desirous enough of an education to do what every other culture and race does in this country: get an ID,” Owens said.
Owens has also been a vocal opponent of the H.R 1, “For The People Act,” which is election legislation being pushed by Democrats to increase access to the polls and curb corruption. Owens talked about how HR.1 is a massive power grab that weakens election security and keeps Washington bureaucrats in power.
H.R 1 violates the First Amendment and reduces the accountability of politicians to the public. It would also affect ads not just supporting or opposing candidates, but weighing in on specific legislation. HR.1 would constitute forced speech and give specific political parties the ability to benefit themselves during election periods. It has nothing to do with the people or “fortifying” our country’s election system.
“Taxpayer-funded political campaigns, nullified voter I.D. laws, and nationalized elections are not a successful recipe for restoring faith in our democracy or protecting the voice of American voters. Not to mention, the proposed changes would drastically re-engineer our federal form of government by centralizing power in Washington. Our elections should be free and fair, not bureaucratized power grabs that benefit only the Democratic majority,” Owens said.
H.R 1 was passed in the House of Representatives and has made its way to the Senate.
The American people are opposing the radical left’s hostile takeover of our right to vote through their race-baiting narratives and forced false views. Politicians and ‘woke companies’ agreed that Georgia’s new voting laws were “Jim Crow laws” before even reading it themselves. Talk about sheep.
The post Rep. Owens Lashes Out At Dems For Referring To Georgia’s Laws As “Jim Crow Laws” appeared first on American Conservatives.
