There will be a rally to support H.B. 853, the Georgia Right to Grow Act, on the Washington Street side of the Georgia Capitol Feb. 28, 2012, at 1 p.m.

H.B. 853 reads: No county, municipality, consolidated government, or local government authority shall prohibit or require any permit for the growing or raising of food crops, rabbits, honeybees, or chickens, with the exception of roosters, in home gardens, fully covered pens, hives, or fully covered coops on private residential property so long as such food crops, animals, or honeybees or the products thereof are used for human consumption by the occupant of such property and members of his or her household and not for commercial purposes.

H.B. 853 is stuck in the Rules Committee by the Chairman who is putting the wants of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) ahead of the needs of the people of Georgia to grow their own food, robbing the Bill of Due Process in the meantime. If action is not taken on the bill on Feb. 29, it will die in committee. Please attend this rally and do your part to regain our right to grow our own food.

Joseph Pond

Marietta, Ga