State Rep. Ed Lindsey for Congress: Attacking Human Trafficking

via email:

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

Yesterday, Governor Deal signed HB 141, a bill I Sponsored this year that will assist the victims of human trafficking to get the assistance they need to free them from the dark web they have been dragged into by our 21^st century version of slave traders.  This is the second major piece of legislation that I have sponsored and passed on this issue.

In 2010, I was asked by church leaders in my district to address this problem in the General Assembly. Tragically, Georgia has become an international hub for human trafficking because of our boom town reputation, convention trade, and international airport. Despite the clearly recognized  problem, several bills designed to deal with the issue had been repeatedly bottled up in committee in previous years.

I was able to pull together representatives from the Attorney General’s office, state prosecutors, law enforcement, churches and religious organizations, and social workers. Working together we crafted HB 200 in 2011. The bill clarified the criminal definition of human trafficking, toughened the penalties, educated law enforcement, expanded jurisdiction of the GBI, and gave assistance to victims. The end result was legislation that passed with near unanimous support in the General Assembly, and Georgia is now considered to be a model  for other states to follow in tackling the problem.

Still, there is more work to be done, and that is why I co-chaired with Senator Renee Unterman a legislative study committee last Fall that led to HB 141 and also helped in the passage of Georgia’s new Juvenile Justice Code.

This sort of legislation does not just happen. It is the result of listening to the real world needs of Georgians and acting through determination and teamwork to make a difference.

If you help elect me to Congress to represent Georgia’s 11^th Congressional District, I will take this experience of listening to my constituents and acting on their concerns to Washington.

I hope you will join me in this campaign to bring conservative reform to Congress where it is so badly needed.