Earlier this week the Atlanta City Council passed legislationthat would roll back Atlanta ethics laws by allowing city employees and elected officials to receive free meals and tickets to entertainment events from lobbyist. The bill also would not have required that these gifts be disclosed. The moment we heard of this bill we spoke out against it in the press, and contacted Mayor Franklin to urge her to veto the bill.

The Mayor has since vetoed the bill and the council has backed down. Clearly the Council underestimated the public's outrage over this, and now the 10 members who voted for the bill are in the awkward position of being forced to explain why they think it is okay to accept freebies from lobbyists. It's not okay and they should know better.