Atlanta, GA – The Libertarian Party of Georgia voted this month to join the Second Chance for Georgia coalition in its effort to reduce the lifetime consequences of interactions with the criminal justice system. As part of our ongoing partnership with The Georgia Justice Project, we seek policy reforms to address systemic injustices which consign free citizens to the custody or oversight of the state, especially for non-violent and victimless crimes.
Second Chance for Georgia wants to reduce barriers to employment, education, and housing, by allowing records to be sealed after a period of time. 40% of adults in Georgia have some kind of criminal record, and past convictions mean higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness. In most cases, ex-convicts do not pose a danger to others. They’re parents of children, our coworkers, neighbors, and friends, who’ve served their time and want to rejoin our community. As part of our mission to secure liberty for all, we back policy changes to minimize the lifetime consequences of contact with an abusive, discriminatory, state-run system.
Well after completion of a court-ordered sentence, previously incarcerated individuals can be socially and economically incapacitated by barriers to employment, voting, jury service, housing, public assistance, college admission and financial aid, custody of minor children, and consideration for immigration. The loss of fundamental civil rights – including the right to vote, to own a firearm, and to be free from unjustified searches – should especially trouble the conscience of any libertarian.
Want to help us reform the badly broken system of prosecution and incarceration in Georgia? Contact your local affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Georgia, or get in touch with Second Chance for Georgia. Our party continues to prioritize criminal justice reform and equality of treatment under the law as part of its core philosophy. We look forward to being a supporting organization at Georgia Justice Day 2020 (date to be announced) and advocacy at the Gold Dome for Second Chance Day 2020 is scheduled for February 11, 2020.
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The Libertarian Party of Georgia is committed to America’s heritage of individual freedoms, limited government, and social tolerance. We value a free market economy of innovation and prosperity, a foreign policy of peace and non-intervention, and liberty and justice for all. If this sounds like you, learn more about what we do and what we stand for. You can find a libertarian affiliate in your community, join us at community service events and business meetings every month, or just sign up to let us know you’re interested. A world of peace, prosperity, and personal freedom is possible. Be a part of making it happen.
