Let’s Call Brian Kemp for What He Is… A Murderer.
Or would “genocidal psychopath” be more appropriate?
Yesterday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has explicitly voided over a dozen local ordinances throughout Georgia that mandated the use of face masks in public spaces. Tonight, he has officially brought suit against the Atlanta City Council and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to enforce the prohibition. Cutting against the grain of both incontrovertible scientific evidence as well as time-proven practices of other states and localities throughout the world, Kemp has chosen to value economic gain over the lives of his constituents. Cities across Georgia have rightfully chosen to defy the governor’s orders by continuing to maintain their ordinances in the interest of public health and safety — with Savannah Mayor Van Johnson even taking to twitter to directly chastise Kemp.
The preemption doctrine under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution holds that federal laws will prevail over state laws when inconsistencies exist between the two over certain matters. In a similar vein, state laws will prevail over local ordinances when inconsistencies exist between the two as well. This unfortunately means that Kemp’s prohibition of local ordinances by Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, and other cities to mandate face masks would actually take precedence. A lawsuit to enforce this preemption doctrine over the city council of Atlanta therefore holds strong legal grounds to succeed in court.
There is something deeply ironic about a man claiming to help those “who are struggling to survive,” yet will essentially be condemning thousands of those exact people to their deaths. To claim that face masks will “threaten the lives” of people requires one to either be willfully and maliciously ignorant, or just downright fucking stupid. And knowing Kemp, he is likely both.
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Common law generally defines murder as “killing another human being with malice aforethought.” Legally speaking, “malice aforethought” can encompass many forms — from criminal negligence to callous disregard of others — but most commonly involves a simple intent to kill.
If the past few months of protests have taught us one thing, it is that language matters. The words we choose to present various ideas and information directly influences how those ideas and information will be treated by society. So tonight, let us be clear about the language we use. Kemp’s actions will directly lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. He is fully aware of the consequences of his actions, yet is intentionally choosing to pursue such actions regardless. Therefore, we must brand him for what he is: a murderer.
Governor Brian Kemp, there will be blood on your hands.
