The Georgia Legislature is pushing forward with a campus carry bill.
The anti-gun Georgia establishment whipped out the dog-eared old script of anti-gun, anti-carry platitudes.
“Persons have to be trained to use a weapon in a matter to fight back. Georgia doesn’t do any kind of training to allow you to carry even if you have a permit. It doesn’t guarantee that you will protect anyone or that the law is going to work.” – State Sen. Harold Jones II, D-Augusta
Concealed carriers are all dumb amateurs. Check.
“We’re putting (students) in volatile situations with alcohol and hormones.” – State Rep. Virgil Fludd, D-Tyrone
Kids will get drunk and start shooting each other. Check.
“You have people who walk around and they become vigilantes. Someone can be upset with someone and they immediately pull out the weapon, so the police force becomes ineffective. You also have people who show up to campus who are up to no good, who now know that people are now carrying, who shoot first and ask questions later.” – Clark Atlanta University President Ronald Johnson
Shoot first/blood in the streets/OK Corral histrionics. Check.
Not to be outdone by the politicians, Moms Demand Action had to get into the fray.
“When we’re talking about even 21 year old kids, there’s issues with academic pressure, with drug use, alcohol abuse and putting kids in that type of situation and allowing guns is not a common sense law.” – Lindsey Donovan, MDA Chapter Leader.
Nothing more than a rehashing of same BS, but at least she got the age thing right.
The bill gets elevated and the governor steps up to the plate. What did he say?
BOOM! Mic drop! I don’t know anything about any of his other positions, but on concealed carry, the man does not lie.
I’ve visited Georgia Tech and other big state schools (U Penn, UF, etc.) . They are so integrated into the cities they are in, sometimes it’s impossible to tell you’ve walked into campus. Why should someone who is licensed to carry a gun in downtown Atlanta suddenly find him/herself in violation of the law by crossing a street and finding him/herself on campus? This is as illogical as the rationale behind gun free zones, that the difference between safety and danger in an arbitrary and invisible line in the ground.
What additional risk does this place on students? None, and it seems like the Governor gets that. In regard to those engaged in what-if hand-wringing, the governor’s repose was “I think they should be concerned about making sure that those students are taught and educated. That’s their responsibility. The law will take care of the rest of it.” Well said governor.
“I’ve visited Georgia Tech and other big state schools (U Penn, UF, etc.). They are so integrated into the cities they are in, sometimes it’s impossible to tell you’ve walked into campus.” As a GT graduate, I agree that’s how it is today. However, back when I was a student (’84-’88) it was much easier to tell the difference. The surrounding areas were much crummier than they are now, and the first Federal public housing project, Techwood Homes (1936), was just south of campus. We regularly had run-ins with Techwood Homes residents, folks from the homeless all around and the homeless camp just north of campus (it was between Turner Networks and the highway). Nowadays the area is much nicer overall (I don’t miss Techwood Homes, but do miss all the dive bars & gathering spots that were a tradition), but there have been a large number of just-off-campus home invasions and on- and off-campus assaults against students in recent years. The predators know the students are unarmed. If I were a student there today, I’d definitely want the ability to carry.
As for Nathan Deal’s other positions, he’s just as pragmatic and tells folks like it is. For example, there are serious issues around the “religious liberty” bill(s) going through the legislature. Ostensibly, they’re to prevent religious leaders from having to perform gay marriages (it started out as the “Pastor Protection” bill) or from folks having to bake gay cakes, but it’s morphed into something that would effectively allow discrimination against not only the LGBT community, but also folks who are atheist/agnostic, have premarital sex, or otherwise have a lifestyle they disagree with — say, being pro-firearms and/or anti-gun-control. The film industry, which has become a major economic player in Georgia, is threatening to leave, as are other major firms such as Salesforce. Deal has come out and said (my paraphrasing) that the bill is absurd and is going to devastate Georgia economically. I agree with Governor Deal on this.
http://georgiatipsheet.com/2016/02/22/film-industry-on-religious-liberty-bills-back-to-hollywood/
Yep, that’s a mic drop and walk away… 🙂
“You also have people who show up to campus who are up to no good, who now know that people are now carrying, who shoot first and ask questions later.”
WTF? You know there are people there who will shoot you first and then ask your corpse questions, but you come to campus “up to no good” anyway? Aside from the BS, how does this even make sense?