Pagans In Politics: Never Say Sine Die

The "Gold Dome" of the Georgia Capitol building, with Miss Freedom on top. — The “Gold Dome” of the Georgia Capitol building, with Miss Freedom on top.

It’s Sine Die, that is, the last day of the legislative session in Georgia. The clock stops at midnight; anything that doesn’t pass both houses by then is really and truly dead. (Until next year!) There are skullduggeries, shenanigans, dramatic reversals, Pyrrhic victories, backroom deals, sudden but inevitable betrayals, and a lot of hot air, all in a chaotic yet protocol-bound maelstrom. If you’ve never been to one of these, imagine a cross between a blood sport and a telethon.

I’ve given talks before about Pagans in politics; you’d be surprised at what you can get done simply by showing up and talking to people, regardless of how high on the mast your freak flag may be. The reason more people don’t do it is that it’s exhausting, confusing, and occasionally enraging. But it’s also kind of fun.

The Georgia version of the RFRA bill is rumored to be dead in the water, and yet…bills have risen from the grave before to bite the necks of the unsuspecting populace. It ain’t over til it’s over. Planned Parenthood Southeast is all over that one because of the implications for access to birth control; aside from the “religious freedom” law, other issues of interest to Pagans appear in the Georgia Sierra Club’s Legislative Blog. There may be more but I’ll fill in as I figure them out.

I have to work all day but after I am done educating the youth of Athens I plan to head down to the Georgia Capitol building to see what is to be seen. And live-blog it here, for your benefit. Wish me luck. And fortitude.

UPDATE: I shall tweet tweetingly from my Twitter account, then post here periodically. Like so:

@PatheosPagan On the MARTA train heading for the Capitol. Carrying my umbrella because the heavens are weeping lightly. #gapol

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 2, 2015

@PatheosPagan I never noticed but the steps on the MLK street side of the Capitol have decorative cannons on either side. #pointedatGSU

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 2, 2015

Ran into @erictheteamster whom I know from Occupy Atlanta. #likeoldtimes #lessmayhem #lotslessmayhem

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

@PatheosPagan Apparently Sen. McKoon tried to append the “religious freedom” legislation to another bill earlier today, then withdrew it. — Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Embroiled in a discussion of local education with a woman who has a table full of snacks. #policynerds #cookiesarenonpartisan

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Tucker incorporation vote in Senate. Yea 43 Nay 4 #nowitgoestothepeople — Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Sitting in Senate gallery. Cyber bullying bill up, passed.

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Basically just sitting vigil by the grave site, watching to see if the religious freedom bill shows signs of clawing its way out #mrpointy — Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Georgia ‘religious liberty’ bill never got a House vote. A good overview. http://t.co/bHjgHA2SJZ

— Jim Galloway (@politicalinsidr) April 3, 2015

@politicalinsidr Just so you know, the Wiccan lobby is in the house. Well, technically the Senate gallery.http://t.co/WQgn2PeHSo — Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

It’s after 10 pm and everyone who purports to know what’s going on around here thinks the bill is done for. Ding! Dong! the…wait a minute

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

@politicalinsidr No. In my opinion that bill was more likely to hurt religious minorities than help them, ATC’s pranking notwithstanding. — Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Bag of white chocolate covered popcorn being passed around. #comeforthepoliticsstayforthesnacks

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Now hanging in the lobby. With lobbyists. And journalists. Who are giving each other shit and making me laugh. #gapol #SineDie — Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015

Portly soprano due to sing in 45 minutes. Lobby conversation has devolved into gossip about who is getting indicted next #gapol #sinedie

— Sara Amis (@GollyMollyB) April 3, 2015