I’m no great fan of the war on drugs; it’s mostly failed to stop drug usage in the US and it’s imprisoned hundreds of thousands of people for the crime of mostly harming themselves. However, I do believe that law enforcement needs to keep drugs away from children, and that harsh penalties should come to those who sell drugs in neighborhoods where children go to school. So did all Georgia lawmakers in 1990 … except one:
Jim Martin was the only one who voted against a measure in 1990 that made drug dealing within a thousand feet of schools a felony, rather than a misdemeanor (SB204). This proposal was so controversial that it passed by a vote of 150-1. Martin also voted against mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealers, and opposed the elimination of parole for violent felons. Those latter two could be debatable, but only Martin debated making drug dealing near schools a felony — making him the lone member of the fringe of his own party.
Who is this guy? Is this the best Democrats could do against Saxby Chambliss?
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