Finding a New State Representative for Northeast Cobb

It has been brought to the attention of many that our current State Representative, Bobby Franklin has been trying to pass a bill to make it a crime for women to miscarry if the cause is unknown, calling it “Prenatal murder.”

The men and women in our area are outraged that this man in still in office and is spending his time trying to pass such a bill. As our readers have pointed out, Franklin is still in office because he continues to run unopposed.  As the only candidate, he wins by default.

Georgia has very few qualifications to be a State Representative. According to sos.georgia.gov qualification quideline:

1. Must be a citizen of the United States.
2. Must be at least 21 years of age.
3. Must have been a citizen of Georgia for at least two years.
4. Must be a resident of the district which he or she represents, and at the time of his or her election must have been a resident of the territory embraced within such district for at least one year preceding such time. Must be elected only by the voters of his or her representative district.

This is the oath each representative swears before taking his or her seat:

“I do hereby solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of this state and of the United States, and on all questions and measures which may come before me, I will so conduct myself, as will, in my judgment, be most conducive to the interests and prosperity of this state.”

It doesn’t seem that the bills our State Representative is trying to pass falls within the guidelines of the oath he took. How is passing a law considering miscarriage as a murder in line with “the interests and prosperity of this state”?  Also, how is it in line with “I will support the Constitution of this state and of the United States” as he swore to when he took office?

As a side note, the penalty for not following the oath is:

“Any public officer who willfully and intentionally violates the terms of his or her oath as prescribed by law shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years. O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1.”

I am not saying Franklin has willfully or intentionally violated the terms of his oath. I would have to dig further into the constitution of Georgia and the United States to get an accurate answer.

Under the section General Disqualifications, two of the causes of being ineligible to hold office are:

d) Persons of unsound mind (which no one of a sound mind would consider a miscarriage murder).

h) Persons who are constitutionally disqualified for any cause. (Again, we would have to check the constitutionality of the bill/s he is trying to pass).

If you feel strongly enough to see to it that this and other obsurd laws do not pass, there is hope. Another section of the qualification guide states:

Any citizen and taxpayer of a community or the state may challenge qualifications of public officials to hold office in that community or the state. Such a person has standing as an individual to bring a quo warranto action claiming that a public official is ineligible to hold office. Highsmith v. Clark, 245 Ga. 158, 264 S.E.2d 1 (1980)

We have the ability to change representatives if someone will step up to the plate.  You don’t have to be a lawyer or former politician or be in any specific career. The requirements are very lean, which opens the position up to a citizen who wants to make a difference. We need someone who is willing to stand up for our rights and have a strong moral character.

Spread the word. Consider if you would like to run for State Representative and make a positive change. Perhaps you know someone at work or church who loves standing for what's right.  Give them a little nudge to contemplate running for this office.

Someone has to step up. We can not allow Franklin to run opposed.

Would you like to run for State Representative? Have any suggestions for candidates? Share in the comments section.