Georgia State Senator Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville) has introduced a joint resolution that would express "regret and remorse" for Georgia's role in condoning the institution of slavery.
Senate Resolution 28, if passed, would mark the first official acknowledgement of the injustices of slavery and an official expression of regret and remorse for the condoning of the institution of slavery in Georgia until the end of the Civil War in 1865.
Since the abolition of slavery, there have been several attempts by the General Assembly to apologize for Georgia’s previous involvement in slavery. Most recently, HR 295 was filed in the House of Representatives in 2009 by Rep. Al Williams (D-Atlanta), but never made it to the floor for a vote. Similarly, Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) sponsored similar legislation to Loudermilk's in 2007, which also did not make it to the floor to a vote.
Loudermilk, a staunch conservative, has also had his name floated about for a possible primary challenge to Saxby Chambliss for the U.S. Senate in 2014. He brushed off talk of such a challenge, stating, "I have never considered that. It's hard for me to predict what's going to happen, but that is not in any goal that I have."
Loudermilk has been in the State Senate since 2010.Prior to that, he spent six years in the Georgia House. Before that, he was the head of the Bartow County Republican Party from 2001 to 2004.
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