1-17-06, 9:05 am

(APN) ATLANTA--All Black members of the Georgia General Assembly, the leadership of the House Minority Caucus, US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), and some members of the King family have boycotted a statewide MLK event in protest of the Georgia House’s passage of a controversial photo ID bill, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

The bill was reintroduced the first day of Georgia’s legislative session, with two new provisions, allowing free state ID for the indigent and opening more offices where people can obtain state Ids. Opponents of the bill contend the changes do not take away from its likely effect of leading to a decrease in voting among the poor, minorities, college students, and elderly.

'I believe it was too great a contradiction to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King in one hour and pass the Georgia photo ID bill in the next,' US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) said in a press statement obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

'The photo ID bill is a modern-day poll tax, and the insistence of Georgia Republicans in passing legislation that will disenfranchise thousands of elderly, disabled, rural, poor and minority voters in Georgia is a stain on our democracy,' Rep. Lewis said.