By Maggie Lee / Staff

Ga. Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) had a vision to make Georgia the fishing state. Instead, it’s become the broke state. Now some legislators want to make Georgia the gun state.

Second Amendment lovers are taking aim at what they see as a disorderly set of Georgia gun laws. The problem is that some lawmakers, including Republicans, are skeptical about provisions that are more permissive than even in gun-loving Texas.

Since the late 19th century, Georgia law has forbidden bringing firearms into “public gatherings”. That includes but is not limited to universities, churches, sporting events, political events and government-owned or operated buildings.

 
In such public places, “random acts of violence occur and no law is going to prevent that from happening,” said Sen. Mitch Sebaugh (R- Sharpsburg). “There are individuals who believe they have a right to carry firearms to defend themselves when somebody does not obey the law.”

Seabaugh and Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) are sponsoring somewhat similar legislation.  Both would allow concealed-carry permit holders to pack at “public gatherings”.    Seabaugh’s, however, bans guns from university dormitories; that overcomes a major Board of Regents challenge to Bearden’s bill. 

THE GORILLA OF GUN LOBBYISTS

The state’s powerful firearms lobbyist, Georgiacarry.org, a non-profit 501(c) (4) lobby founded in 2007, supports both. Georgiacarry makes the NRA look like a popgun group.

“Our organization’s number one legislative priority is to work to get the public gatherings law repealed,” according to John Monroe, vice president and chief legal counsel of Georgiacarry.org. 

His organization considers the current laws poorly written and over-restrictive.

GOD LIKES GUNS?

As for Sunday morning, Monroe said the ban on packing in church is the state interfering with practice of worship.

Among the preachers who testified in favor of the Senate bill, Jonathan Wilkins of Baptist Tabernacle in Thomaston said that after an Illinois church shooting in 2009, “our church resolved to always have a responsible and trained individual carry a handgun in church services. We were of a unanimous consent especially considering the occasional mendicant who enters our services which realistically poses the question:  “what could we do if the worst were to happen?”

He added, “you could imagine our astonishment” to find out it’s illegal to have a gun on private church property.

The law uses the word “church”; it’s not clear that other houses of worship are even covered.

And on Friday and Saturday night, the Georgia World Congress Center’s Bill Miller said they’re fine with firearms on their properties — which include the Georgia Dome — but want their clients and conventions to be able to ban the guns at their discretion.

Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta), who chairs the committee the bill needs to get through, is a strong supporter.  He’s working with Seabaugh on ongoing refinements and amendments. 

Though the two big bills are not necessarily companions, they are close enough that if each passes its committees and chamber, they could possibly be united in a conference committee.

But the first goal is getting that far. 

There’s skepticism especially around the bill sponsors’ refusals to countenance a safety-training requirement for a concealed carry permit. 

“A background check does not a marksman make,” observed Rep. Joe Wilkinson (R- Sandy Springs), a serious supporter of the right to carry guns and a former rifle and pistol sharpshooter himself.

But the Navy veteran emphasized “former” because he’s had no training updates in decades. He admitted he couldn’t do with a newer weapon what he thinks is necessary for responsible handling:  take it apart; clean it; set the safety; know the muzzle velocity and trajectory; and compensate for kick, among other things. 

“Oh, I’ll pass a background check,” said the one-time staffer for President Ronald Reagan, “but without training, I can’t use a Glock (a new plastic gun favored by some law enforcement entities, including Roswell).

“You must have safety training like in other states.”

Texas, for one, requires between 10 and 15 hours of safety, law and conflict resolution classes plus a demonstration of proficiency to get a concealed carry permit.

GEORGE CALLS FOR MORE TRAINING PROVISIONS

Alpharetta’s top cop agrees with a training requirement too.

In general, Alpharetta Public Safety Director Gary George observed, the more liberal the carrying laws, the lower the crime rate in states comparable to Georgia.  He doesn’t “have heartburn” about more guns in more places in Georgia, believing they serve as a crime deterrent.

“I have more concern about [armed] road rage than a weapon at the Georgia Dome,” George said.

“But you must have a safety course and a thorough background check,” he added.

And it’s not clear that a good mental health history check is possible in Georgia, according to Consuelo Campbell of Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Probate Courts, which issue licenses, don’t often have the information they need or updates on people they’ve licensed, she said.  

“The [Probate] Court has no way of knowing when a person is hospitalized by a Superior or State Court for findings of not guilty by reason of insanity or incompetence to stand trial.”

And unless there’s a court order, a visit to a mental hospital, either public or private, is not reportable to any state agency.