Fresh Loaf

The state Supreme Court chipped away at Georgia’s draconian sex-offender law on Monday by striking a provision that requires homeless offenders to register an address. Under the law, sex offenders are required to re-register with the state every time they move. And listing “no address” is not an option.

The Court ruled that the law is unfair to homeless offenders because it does not provide them with an alternative to having a home address – effectively criminalizing homelessness. Convicted sex offender William Santos, the homeless man who filed the lawsuit challenging the law, faced a mandatory life sentence because he was unable to give an address.

The ruling is additional confirmation that the law, concocted by state Rep. Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons, a former head of the Georgia Christian Coalition, simply was not intended to comply with the real world.

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State Sen. Nancy Schaefer, R-Turnerville, a far-right evangelical Christian whose twin passions are restricting abortion rights and Scientology, recently announced that she will not be running in the 10th District Congressional race after all.

Less than two weeks ago, Schaefer mailed out an unintentionally amusing fundraising letter bashing Republican incumbent Paul Broun and fellow challenger, state Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem. In the letter, she alleged that “Broun has a sordid past,” but offered no details. Given her mile-wide self-righteous streak, however, that could mean he once lusted in his heart.

She dismisses Fleming – a guy whose most recent achievement was a bill to allow folks to be sentenced to death by non-unanimous juries – as a “liberal Republican trial lawyer.” On the other hand, compared to Schaefer, Jesse Helms is a liberal.

Why is Nancy not running? Her stated reason, according to an article in the Athens Banner-Herald, is that she is focused on helping her husband through upcoming major surgery. It’s also possible that she hasn’t raised enough money to challenge Broun, but Schaefer has never been troubled by such earthly concerns. This is the woman, after all, who, in the early ’90s, ran for Atlanta mayor and governor when she didn’t have a cold chance in hell of winning.

Apparently, she’s not planning to run for reelection to her Senate seat, either. I wish we could say we’ll miss her in the same way that the House wouldn’t be nearly as fun to cover without the antics of Christian nutcase Bobby Franklin. But frankly, Nancy the lawmaker has always been disappointingly subdued.

It will be interesting, however, to see what effect Fleming’s departure has on the delicate balance of power among the House leadership. As Majority Whip, Fleming often served as chief enforcer and all-around henchman to Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons. With Fleming gone, Keen could lose some of his influence – which would be the best outcome any of us could hope for.

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