Ga. flag debate threatens law event

 
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BUSINESS SATURDAY • March 22, 2003

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Ga. flag debate threatens law event
Jim Galloway - Staff
Saturday, March 22, 2003

An organization of law professors has sent word to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin that it might move its January convention from Georgia if the flap over the state flag isn't settled.

The possibility was raised in a March 7 letter from the Association of American Law Schools, which Franklin forwarded this week to lawmakers at the state Capitol.

Several other organizations, including the NCAA and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, have threatened to move their conventions or athletic events if the old state flag and its Confederate battle emblem return.

The law school association is the first to imply that it would withdraw if the Confederate battle emblem is included as part of a statewide vote.

"The recent controversy surrounding the referendum to restore the symbol of the Confederacy to the Georgia state flag has already resulted in suggestions that the meeting be moved to [another] city or boycotted," wrote Carl C. Monk, executive director of the Washington-based organization.

Monk could not be reached for further comment Friday afternoon. Franklin declined to comment.

On Thursday, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce declared its opposition to any referendum that included the Confederate battle emblem as a choice for voters, saying the lengthy debate would damage the state economy.

Gov. Sonny Perdue's proposed referendum includes the battle emblem flag, the current state flag adopted in 2001, and the banner that flew before 1956.

The annual meeting of the AALS usually attracts 3,000 to 4,000 law professors and associates, generating $2 million in tax revenues for the city or state where it's held.

"In the scheme of things, this is a medium-sized group --- about 2,400 rooms on its peak day," said Carl Rountree, executive vice president of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

But the convention is scheduled for Jan. 2-6, 2004. That's a time of year --- immediately following the New Year --- that few other groups would want.

"They're not likely to be replaced," Rountree said.

The AALS hasn't held its annual convention in Atlanta since 1977, largely because of objections to Georgia's anti-sodomy laws --- which the organization said were used to discriminate against homosexuals.

The organization signed the contract for next year's meeting in 1999, shortly after the Georgia Supreme Court declared the state's sodomy laws to be unconstitutional.

The flag referendum legislation is now before the House Rules Committee and is expected to be debated on the House floor in coming weeks.

 

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