ATLANTA — Beth and Gus Walters walked into the Georgia State Capitol on Monday with a mission—a strong determination—to honor their late son Austin in the best way they knew how.
The mission? To advocate for new legislation to strengthen penalties for drug dealers in the state. The bill is deemed "Austin's Law," and it could lead to certain drug dealers being charged with felony aggravated involuntary manslaughter. It's already making promising moves in both the Senate and the House.
But for Beth, the proposed legislation is named after a boy who loved to hunt and fish. He also adored the outdoors.
"He loved his family. He was an all-around American kind of boy — just the kind of kid you would always want to be your child. He was very special to us," Beth said.
However, in the midst of a love to grill and sharing recipes with family, Austin struggled with anxiety, depression and the stigma surrounding mental illness.
"He chose to buy a Xanax off of the street to help ease that anxiety," Beth said. "This particular Xanax that he bought was laced with fentanyl, and it killed him almost immediately."
Beth and Gus told 11Alive they thought they had everything they would need to hold someone accountable for selling the pills to Austin, including a Venmo transaction and an address.
But a detective told them it wouldn't be enough for more than a misdemeanor because of how the law is written, sparking the idea of how both Beth and Gus could honor their child.
"I can't change what the law was when that happened in our case," Beth said. "My goal here is to change it for someone else."
Gus researched other laws and contacted State Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell). They drafted the new legislation, "Austin's Law," also known as Senate Bill 465. It focuses on changes to legislation regarding controlled substances and fentanyl-related fatalities. It also establishes a new category of offense, felony aggravated involuntary manslaughter, where drug dealers and distributors can be prosecuted.
"These people need to be punished, just like we've been punished by losing our child," Gus said. "If you can make something a little more personal than people can attach to it."
According to a Senate release, "Austin's Law" passed the full Senate 49-3 in late February. It also passed the House Judiciary Committee. While the bill has bipartisan support, a handful of recovery advocates cautioned lawmakers about certain versions of the law.
In general, advocates said they want to make sure it won't discourage people from using Georgia's Medical Amnesty Law, which has saved more than 10,000 lives to date.
"There's no one that wants overdoses to stop more than I do," advocate Robin Elliott said. "If people are too afraid to call 911 over small quantities of drugs, they're more than likely not to call if it's manslaughter or murder. I just want to make sure people feel still safe to call 911."
Although "Austin's Law" passed the full Senate, it still needs to be passed by the full House before the governor can consider it.