Georgia
Squatters take over Georgia man’s home while he was caring for sick wife — and now he can’t evict them: report
A Georgia man claims he returned home from caring for his sick wife to find that squatters had changed the locks on his home and moved in — and now local laws are blocking him from evicting the alleged freeloaders.
âBasically, these people came in Friday, broke into my house and had a U-Haul move all their stuff in. Itâs frustrating. Itâs very frustrating. I canât even sleep,â DeKalb man Paul Callins told WSB-TV.
Callins had sunk thousands of dollars into the home and renovated with his own hands after he inherited it from his late father, but since squatters moved in he’s found himself facing nothing but obstacles to evict the alleged intruders.
âI guess they have done this before, because when I called the police, they said since they have a fake lease, that they canât do anything. That itâs a civil matter,â Callins said.
Callins believes the squatters targeted him after posting a rental advertisement online. He’d been planning to rent to a government-subsidized tenant when he lost the house, WSB-TV reported.
Rather than forcibly evicting the squatters, Georgia law requires homeowners file an âAffidavit of Intruderâ which then needs to work its way through the court system before police can act, Callins explained.
âI have to go through the court system, and I understand it could take 60 to 90 days,â the homeowner said.
Situations like Callins’ have become all too common in Georgia.
About 1,200 homes across DeKalb County are currently occupied by squatters, according to the National Rental Home Council trade group. The problem is exacerbated by its status as a civil matter, which prevents homeowners from easily evicting intruders, according to critics.
Lawmakers in Georgia are nearing the passage of a bill which would make squatting a criminal offense and using a fake lease a felony, which would allow police officers to arrest offenders.
“These are people that know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re stealing other people’s most valuable capital, which is their home,” Rep. Devan Seabaugh, a Republican co-sponsoring the bill, told Fox News.
“I don’t know how it took us this long to get here⦠but no more free rides.”
GEORGIA, Ga. (WALB) — A new bill introduced to the Georgia Senate could create a constitutional amendment to restrict voting to legal U.S. citizens.
The bill, Senate Resolution 4EX says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.”
If passed, Georgians will vote on the constitutional amendment in the November election.
Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said “I have been calling on the legislature for years to pass this amendment to the state constitution. I am glad to see the legislature finally act to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”
According to Raffensperger, Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizen verification of voter rolls. Since 2022, Raffensperger’s office conducted two citizenship audits of Georgia’s voter rolls.
SR 4EX Text
“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship. Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. U.S. Citizens should decide Georgia elections. Period. I urge the legislature to pass this important legislation.”
The state uses information from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to identify people who are non-citizens. This data is based on documents provided to DDS, through its REAL ID drivers licenses or state identification cards.
That information is also ran through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify an individual’s citizenship status.
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The Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt in their 11-4 win over the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the College World Series finals. It is OU’s second trip to the finals since 2022 but this one feels far more improbable.
A bubble team toward the end of the regular season and down 8-2 in an elimination game against Georgia Tech, Oklahoma has defied the odds and powered its way to the finals in Omaha. On Wednesday night, the Sooners hit five home runs against a Bulldogs team that led the nation in home runs per game this season.
Jason Walk got the home run party started, and Dasan Harris hit a pair of two-run bombs to help Oklahoma separate from one of the best teams in college baseball.
From the mound, freshman Nick Wesloski put together a strong performance for the Sooners, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched. L.J. Mercurius worked 3.1 and allowed just one earned run against the vaunted Georgia offense.
Everything is clicking for Oklahoma heading into the finals, which begins on Saturday. They’ll face a good North Carolina Tar Heels for all the marbles. But before we get to the championship series, here’s a look at how social media reacted to the Sooners win over Georgia.
Playing for a Natty
Incredible Job by Skip Johnson
Definition of Team
Just Unreal
Got Hot at the Right Time
The Moment from the Dugout
Freshmen Phenoms
Nothing Easy, Everything Earned
Team of Destiny?
Exceeding All Expectations
Dasan Harris is that Dude
Incredible Story
Sooner Magic is alive and well
Playing for a trophy
Time to lay it all on the line
Just doing ridiculous things
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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