CHILD ENDANGERMENT BILL CLEARS ITS FINAL HURDLE

ATLANTA - After years of failed attempts, the state House overwhelmingly
passed a bill Friday creating a felony charge for child endangerment,
making Georgia the last state to adopt such a statute.

Gov. Sonny Perdue said after the legislation passed the House by a vote of
161-1 that he would sign it.

"It had dragged on for far too long and it was time to get it done," Perdue
said.

The measure received bipartisan support.

"Republicans and Democrats who have tremendous philosophical differences
are working together for the good of Georgia," said Rep. Tom Bordeaux,
D-Savannah, the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

In addition to creating a felony-level charge for child endangerment, the
bill also toughens penalties for cooking methamphetamine in the presence of
a child. Meth can be cooked at home and has been known to accidentally
explode and cause fatal fires.

Lawmakers had tried for several years to pass a bill giving prosecutors
another option to prosecute adults who recklessly leave children in
dangerous situations. The legislation was doomed last year when
anti-abortion lawmakers attached a rider bill that would have protected
unborn fetuses as well as children.

"At last the General Assembly has come together to do the right thing,"
said Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, D-Albany. "Today we finally are sending the
message to Georgia's children that we don't live in a state that tolerates
abuse or neglect."

Current state law makes it difficult for prosecutors to go after adults who
inadvertently put children in danger, such as locking them in a car on a
hot day. Bibb County District Attorney Howard Simms said in October 2002
that he would have used a felony child-endangerment statute to file charges
against a Macon mother whose baby died after being left in a locked car for
several hours at Macon's GEICO office building.

In previous years, the legislation was blocked by groups ranging from
Christian Scientists to advocates for victims of domestic violence, who
feared battered women would be prosecuted if they failed to remove their
children from an abusive spouse.

Backers of gun-ownership rights also tried to block the legislation in past
years.

On Friday, Rep. Bobby Franklin, R-Marietta, warned lawmakers that the
legislation would give district attorneys and law enforcement a blank check
to wreak terror on ordinary, law-abiding citizens. Franklin particularly
was worried that the law would force gun owners to always lock guns in a
case if not in use, or face criminal charges.

"An overzealous prosecutor will have a heyday with this," said Franklin,
who cast the only vote against the measure Friday. "They want to prosecute
law-abiding gun owners for merely having a gun at their home."

Last year, Bill Phillips of Citizens for Safe Government warned that the
legislation threatened gun owners' rights to leave a loaded firearm on a
table within reach of a child. Such a situation would be necessary if an
intruder broke into a residence and the gun owner needed quick access to
the weapon, Phillips said.