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Wed.: G'boro, Gangs, & Ganja
posted at 2008-05-21 23:39 | Last modified 2008-05-22 00:00
How do you spell relief?
NC A&T.
The honorables are off to Greensboro Thursday for a legislative field trip. It’ll be the first time the Assembly’s ever met at an HBCU (which, not coincidentally, is the alma mater of Guilford Rep. Alma Adams, trip organizer and chair of the Legislative Black Caucus.).
The sole item on the agenda is this resolution honoring Greensboro’s bicentennial. Still, it’s a big deal for A&T, Greensboro, and the whole Triad delegation.
But the biggest beneficiaries may be those of us staying behind in Raleigh to get some work done. One lobbyist described it as a “teacher workday.” Yep, pretty much.
Sometimes the jokes write themselves...
Guilford Dem Earl Jones introduced a bill today to study whether NC should legalize medical marijuana. He says NC voters would support medical marijuana if they just had accurate facts about its benefits.
GN-R's Mark Binker and I went over to talk to him about it.
Binker: "So you’re hoping for a study committee?"
Jones: "Yeah … joint."
“Hug-a-Thug”?
Senate lawmakers gave unanimous approval today to two proposals aimed at curbing the growth of gangs in NC. One, S1358, adds $10M in “gang prevention and intervention” to existing youth services programs – an initiative some skeptics refer to as the “Hug-A-Thug” bill.
The other, H274, criminalizes a long, controversial list of “street gang activities.” By the way, a “street gang” includes three or more people with common “colors” or “signs” who might be gathering to plot a crime. (As some of my fellow reporters have noted, that definition could arguably apply to legislators. About those lapel pins...)
The bill also gives judges more leeway to deny bail to anyone accused of gang activity. See any potential for abuse there? Plenty of other folks do, including the ACLU.
The House measure is headed home for concurrence. But what they’re getting back is a lot less forgiving than what they sent over, so I’d be surprised if it doesn’t end up in conference committee. The Senate measure goes to the House too, but it’s less likely to find strong opposition.
On the other hand...
It’s hard to imagine more effective advocates for anti-gang legislation than the collection of mayors who gathered to support it in Raleigh today. Yes, Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory was among them. But the one who stole the show, I think, was Susan Kluttz, the Democratic mayor of Salisbury.
Sure, Salisbury might look like Mayberry, but it still has a gang problem. A 13-year-old girl, a bystander, died in gang crossfire outside the town’s American Legion hall last year.
Kluttz still gets emotional when she talks about going to the funeral and apologizing to the dead girl’s parents. She remembers every detail of that day. For her, gang legislation isn’t just a policy issue. It’s as personal as it gets.
Kluttz says S1358 and H274 won’t solve NC’s gang problem. She doesn’t know if anything can. But, she says, you’ve got to start somewhere.
Comments? Drop me a line.
