State Representative Wants to Execute Private Businessmen
State Rep Tommy Benton is one of 180 members of the Georgia House of Representatives, and honestly even with the tracking I do of the General Assembly, he’s probably not a guy I would normally have heard of. He’s in the middle of his third term, and he’s the Secretary of the Education and Retirement committees, but otherwise there is nothing that stands out about him from a casual glance at his House profile.
And then I got a press release with the full text of an email he sent that says (emphasis mine)
Dillon, Thanks for the email. We will have to agree to disagree on this and whether or not money is wasted. I am opposed to the legalization of marijuana. I think we should go to caning for people caught using and maybe execute dealers. That would solve the problem as well. That is what they do in Singapore and they don’t have a drug problem, but then they have less liberty than we do here. Tommy Benton / HD31
I don’t have a problem with the guy being opposed to legalization per se, it is his opinion and he is entitled to it. Admittedly, it is also a fairly popular opinion in this state, and even though I disagree with it, I’m willing to let that disagreement slide for the moment.
My problem comes from the idea that Rep Benton apparently thinks it is OK to torture people who have hurt no one other than themselves and execute people who have done nothing more than peacefully sell a product to a willing buyer. Should we now ban alcohol and tobacco – products that have been shown to be FAR more dangerous than marijuana – and cane anyone caught using them? Should we put every bartender in this state on Death Row for allowing people to get a buzz at the local watering hole?
Prisons are already overcrowded, and this Rep wants to ADD to the prison population? How does he plan to address the ADDITIONAL overcrowding at the jails? By releasing actual violent felons into our communities?
The State is already having to make massive budget cuts, and Benton wants to INCREASE the amount of money the Department of Corrections is having to spend? Georgia is a balanced budget state, and education is 55% of the State budget. Would Benton furlough teachers even longer – or even increase class sizes/cut teacher positions – just so these private businessmen could rot on death row?
Closing, here’s the letter that sparked Rep Benton’s tirade:
July 28, 2009
The Honorable Tommy Benton
Georgia House of Representatives
Coverdell Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, GA 30334
Dear Representative Benton:
As a voter and proud citizen of these United States, I am very disappointed to read that you and your constituents are continuing to
waste more and more taxpayer dollars as you continue the impossible effort to eradicate marijuana from this country through your failed “War on Drugs” effort.
You are spending untold amounts of OUR money virtually using a bucket to empty an ocean. America sees through the lies of the War on Drugs and America wants marijuana without persecution. We already know that it is safer than alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical drugs and with the fact that it is the largest cash crop in the USA it baffles many who realize that legalization, taxation and regulation is the best solution to the problem. The War on Drugs is a paramount failure and will never work and is, in fact, the direct cause for most, if not all, marijuana-related problems in this country.
Are you aware that our children can get illicit drugs more easily than they can get alcohol or tobacco? That’s because people like you fight to keep the control in the hands of the cartels, the gangs, and the unregistered, untaxed, street dealers, none of whom ask a buyer for ID.
Please stop throwing away our tax dollars and please help put a damper in the Mexican Drug Cartels’ business by legalizing and controlling cannabis. It is time to think wisely.
We must end this insane “war on drugs” and we must use logic and common sense to deal with America’s drug problem. A fast-growing majority of American voters agree.
One on behalf of many
Sincerely,
Dillon J Thompson
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August 13th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Dillon,I read your post on your corespondence with the Dishonorable Tommy Benton and all I can say is mabe its time to start executing deranged politicians such as Benton. It is no wonder our state legislature is the laughingstock of the country. It is really sad the people in his district are being represented by such a pathetic lunatic. Singapore also does no t allow christianity to be praticed in their country. Would he suggest that mabe we should execute christians in America as well?Lets hope the citizens in his district come to their senses and sends him back to the rock he crawled out from under. He is obviously a very demented man. Lets also hope he doesnt have children. Can you imagine having a deranged parent such as himself?
August 13th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
You’ve learned a lesson well from the old media. Make the headline have nothing to do with the story. The politico wants to execute drug dealers. You then extrapolate that to mean he wants to kill your local barkeep. A bit of stretch on the part of both of you.
August 14th, 2009 at 4:18 am
Actually, CC, the headline has EVERYTHING to do with the story. As I said in the post and I’ve previously said on this site and elsewhere, I believe in legalization. The act of smoking or selling marijuana in and of itself harms NO ONE – and yet Benton wants to cane and/or execute these people? If Benton wants to do this with a substance that is shown to be less dangerous than either tobacco or alcohol, it logically follows that he would also want to do this with substances that ACTUALLY are inherently somewhat dangerous – alcohol and tobacco being chief among these.
August 14th, 2009 at 5:00 am
A bit of stretch on the part of both of you.
Both of us?
This baby is all Jeff’s. And, for the record, despite the illegality of their business, they are still private businessmen. Jeff never said “legal”, did he?
August 15th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
“A bit of stretch on the part of both of you.”
Both of you-dfn: the writer and the numb nut politico