The Head Hawk installs switch to silence defiant speakers in Ga. House of Representatives.

If common courtesy and a sense of decorum won't keep Georgia House members in order, perhaps cutting off the main microphone will. At least that's what House Speaker Glenn Richardson hopes.

Richardson, R-Hiram, told Morris News Service this week that he ordered a "kill switch" installed for the chamber's main podium as a result of a March 12 incident that created chaos in the House.

State Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan, D-Austell, refused to relinquish the microphone as she was protesting a bill requiring voters to present a photo identification card, a Republican initiative decried by many House Democrats.

When Richardson told Morgan her time had expired, she continued for another 90 seconds, loudly singing a Civil Rights-era hymn while Richardson angrily banged his gavel from his podium behind her.

[S]ome Democrats moved quickly to condemn Richardson's actions, arguing the kill switch is another example of Republicans trying to cut off debate.

"For this administration to go so far as to put in a silencer is pretty outrageous," said state Rep. Tom Bordeaux, D-Savannah.

(5-27-05, The Athens Banner-Herald.)