The Georgia State Senate voted on Friday to approve a symbolic senate resolution expressing support for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, with the measure receiving universal support among Republicans, and support from all but seven Democrats.
Introduced by State Senator Mike Hodges (R-Brunswick), the resolution expresses “support for the” safety training center and condemns “acts of violence and domestic terrorism,” referencing the violent clashes between law enforcement and protesters that saw a Georgia State Patrol trooper shot and a protester killed in January.
The resolution notes the “groups and individuals opposed to the construction” mostly “reside out-of-state,” and alleges they have “systematically orchestrated a relentless campaign of violence, property damage, and domestic terrorism to obstruct and intimidate the completion of the training center.”
Language in the resolution also commended state and local law enforcement for serving “bravely and diligently” to secure the site for construction.
SR 6EX was adopted with a vote of 48 to five. All Republicans voted in favor of the resolution, with 16 of the 23 Senate Democrats crossing the aisle to vote in favor.
Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain) voted against the resolution, as did Senators Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs), Sally Harrell (D-Atlanta), David Lucas (D-Macon), and Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta). Additionally, Senators Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain), Nabilah Islam Parkes (D-Atlanta), and Sheikh Rahman (D-Lawrenceville) abstained from the vote.
Governor Brian Kemp (R), who The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported was behind a pressure campaign urging Georgia Democrats to back the resolution, celebrated its adoption in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Either you’re on the side of law enforcement and first responders receiving the training they need, or you aren’t.” Kemp added, “Proud of those in the State Senate showing support for law enforcement and the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, another supporter of the training center, told the Buckhead Young Republicans it was nearly halfway complete in October, and predicted the asphalt would be “poured by Thanksgiving.”
Polling released in September suggested just 12 percent of Georgia voters support the “Stop Cop City” petition that would put the training center’s future to a public vote.
Regardless of the low public support found by pollsters, the activists delivered their signatures earlier that month, but a series of legal decisions left the city unwilling to count them until it receives guidance from an appeals court.
City officials eventually decided to scan and upload the petitions online for public viewing, and local media discovered duplicate entries and addresses that were not located within Atlanta city limits, potentially forecasting further complications for the activists.
The diary kept by slain protester Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán was submitted as evidence in the ongoing racketeering case against more than 60 activists tied to protests at the site of the training center, with prosecutors arguing it contains both “anti-police rhetoric and drawings,” as well as “notes on meetings in the forests” and “to do lists” featuring crimes to commit on behalf of the effort to stop the facility’s construction.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Atlanta Public Safety Training Center” by atltrainingcenter.com.
