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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2007 > February > 12
Monday, February 12, 2007
House approves concealed gun bill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UPDATED
The Georgia House jumped back into the long-running debate over gun rights Monday, approving legislation that would allow motorists to conceal loaded firearms in their cars without a permit.
Proponents say House Bill 89 would let motorists keep firearms in easy reach to defend themselves against carjackers and other criminals. But critics say the measure would circumvent the state’s concealed handgun background check requirements and endanger police making traffic stops.
The House approved HB 89 on a bipartisan vote of 130-38 Monday, capping its first extended — and heated — debate of this year’s legislative session.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where one of the chamber’s Republican leaders said it has a good chance of passage.
State law now requires motorists who do not have concealed handgun permits to keep their loaded firearms “fully exposed to view” or in the glove box, console or similar compartment.
The bill sponsored by state Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) would allow people to hide guns under seats or wedge them between seat cushions and center consoles.
“It allows a law-abiding citizen … to place a firearm anywhere in the vehicle that they feel is the safest place for their personal protection, for the protection of their family or passengers in that vehicle,” Bearden told lawmakers during a sometimes testy debate that lasted more than an hour.
“What this bill does is just give back a piece — a small piece — of the Second Amendment that has been deprived of so many law-abiding citizens over the last few years.”
The measure is one of several gun-related bills pending in the Legislature. A second would ban police from confiscating guns during a state of emergency such as a hurricane. A third would prohibit certain employers from banning firearms in locked vehicles at employee parking lots or garages.
Last year, the GOP-controlled Legislature approved a law that gives Georgians permission to use deadly force against muggers, carjackers and other attackers without fear of being prosecuted or sued. Supporters labeled it the “stand your ground” law, while critics called it a “shoot first” measure that would encourage reckless shootings.
The National Rifle Association and the Gun Owners of America support Bearden’s bill.
“Very often people who are driving don’t have the luxury of keeping their firearm in plain view,” said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.
The 565-member Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police opposes the bill.
“Our association and its members strongly support Georgians’ Second Amendment rights,” Frank V. Rotondo, the association’s executive director, wrote in a letter to lawmakers Monday. “However, the effect of this bill would extend those rights to an absurd level and have the ultimate effect of occasioning more killings of both police officers, and innocent civilians.”
Several Democrats opposed the bill from the House floor Monday.
“Are you not concerned about the safety of police officers in this matter?” Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell) asked Bearden.
Bearden, a former Douglasville police sergeant, responded: “I can promise you one thing: I would never endorse nor would I author a bill that would endanger any of my brothers and sisters in law enforcement.”
Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) asked why the bill is needed.
“The current leadership of this House at the beginning of this session indicated that one of the conditions for a bill should be that it … solves a problem,” Bruce said. “What problem does this solve?”
Bearden responded: “The most dearest thing anyone can do is to protect their family from criminal assault.”
In the Senate, President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) said the bill stands a good chance of approval there. “Government does not tell a private citizen where they can keep a gun in their home. They should not be able to tell a law-abiding citizen where they can keep a gun in their own personal vehicle.”
Georgians for Gun Safety also opposes the measure, citing statistics that 575 police officers were killed in the line of duty across the country between 1996 and 2005. Of those, 102 were killed during traffic violation stops and felony traffic stops, according to the federal Department of Justice. The federal report does not specify whether guns were involved in those incidents.
State law prohibits people under 21, drug dealers and other felons from obtaining concealed gun licenses. And people applying for the licenses must submit to fingerprinting and criminal background checks.
Alice Johnson, executive director of Georgians for Gun Safety, said Bearden’s bill “erases the distinction that currently exists between someone who can purchase a firearm … and those who can pass the comprehensive background check to get a concealed weapons permit.”
“Many people are turned down for those permit applications because of something in their background that was identified because of that more comprehensive background check,” Johnson said.
Permalink | Comments (42) | Categories: Public safety
New law would target sex offender shutterbugs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lawmakers on Monday passed another piece of legislation aimed at cracking down on registered sex offenders.
The Senate voted 54-0 in favor of Senate Bill 1, a proposal to prohibit any registered sex offender from intentionally photographing a child under the age of 18 without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian. A person who violates the measure, if signed into law, would be guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), the bill’s sponsor, said he got the idea for the proposal from a concerned mother who lives in Richmond Hill, a suburb just south of Savannah.
The mother told Johnson that a man took pictures of her daughter, who was working at a coffee shop. Lewis eventually found out that the man was a registered sex offender from Massachusetts. SB 1 now heads to the House for approval.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Criminal justice
Research universities boost state, officials say
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Scientists studying everything from diabetes to bird flu at the state’s four public research institutions are bringing in million of dollars in research grants, university presidents told lawmakers Monday.
The presidents of Medical College of Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia outlined research on their campuses before the House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee Monday morning, giving an overview of economic impact and health and medical benefits for Georgians.
Mike Cassidy, head of the Georgia Research Alliance, a non-profit group that recruits top researchers to the state, said Georgia is poised to become an international leader in drug and vaccine research. Scientists at Georgia universities are already working on vaccines for AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease and Cassidy said the state should increase funding to lure more top researchers.
“We want to do the deals that grow Georgia’s economy,” he said.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Education
Bill to offer tax credit for scholarship donations
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A state lawmaker says he will propose legislation granting state income tax credits for scholarships targeting poor or disabled students who want to attend private schools.
Under state Rep. Earl Ehrhart’s (R-Powder Springs) plan, individuals and businesses would fund the scholarships through donations to nonprofit organizations.
Those donations — which would be exempt from state income taxes — could also be turned into grants for a variety of public school programs, including pre-kindergarten, foreign language classes and music lessons.
Ehrhart said he wants to set a $50 million annual cap on the cost of the tax credit program. He said he intends to introduce the bill today or tomorrow.
“The key is this is not money coming out of the state treasury,” said Ehrhart, chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee. “It is a tax credit. It is a huge incentive for corporations. If you do it, you will also get a federal income tax credit.”
Ehrhart plans to announce his proposal at a news conference this afternoon.
Permalink | | Categories: Taxes
House will discuss concealed weapons bill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A proposed law that would allow motorists to conceal firearms in their cars has cleared a key legislative committee and is on its way to Georgia’s House of Representatives for a vote as soon as Monday.
Some Georgia police chiefs and other critics say House Bill 89 would endanger police making traffic stops. Proponents say the measure would protect their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
State law now requires motorists who do not have handgun permits to keep their firearms “fully exposed to view” or in the glove box, console or similar compartment.
State Rep. Tim Bearden’s (R-Villa Rica) bill would allow people to hide guns under seats or wedge them between seats cushion and consoles.
After a brief debate Saturday, the Rules Committee recommended the House pass the bill. Several lawmakers peppered Bearden with probing questions during a hearing before the committee vote.
“Over the weekend our law enforcement officials approached me about this bill and they expressed their concern for the safety for their officers if we do pass such a measure,” said House Minority Whip Carolyn Hugley (D-Columbus). “And they asked that we carefully consider doing this in light of the more dangerous position we would put officers in as they approach vehicles.”
Bearden attempted to deflect Hugley’s criticism.
“Once again we have to make sure we understand this is for law-abiding citizens that will not pose a danger to our law enforcement officers,” Bearden said of his bill. “This is protecting the citizens who [have] the right to protect themselves in their homes. And the car is an extension of their homes.”
Another lawmaker asked Bearden if more safeguards could be added to his bill for children.
“Are there any protections for the children at all?” asked Rep. Judy Manning (R-Marietta). “Could you make the proposition a little stronger as far as safety locks or anything like that?”
Bearden contended his bill would make it for safer for youngsters traveling in cars with firearms.
“The person already has the right to have the gun in plain view on the front seat or on the dash,” Bearden said. “But we are allowing the citizen to put it in a more secure place in the vehicle to make sure that child does not get a hold of the firearm. I think that is a safety aspect in itself.”
Bearden’s measure is one of several gun-related bills now pending in the Legislature.
A second bill now in the House Rules Committee would ban police officers, National Guardsmen and others from confiscating guns during a state of emergency such as a hurricane. And a third proposal pending in the House Non Civil Judiciary Committee and in the Senate would prohibit certain public and private employers from barring workers from keeping firearms in locked vehicles at employee parking lots or garages.
The National Rifle Association supports Bearden’s bill.
“Very often people who are driving don’t have the luxury of keeping their firearm in plain view,” said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. “Depending on what kind of car or truck they are driving, they might not have the ability to do that. It also depends on how many passengers they have in the car and the demographic of those passengers.”
Four police chiefs representing communities in Cherokee County - including Woodstock, Holly Springs, Ball Ground and Canton — have gone on record against the bill.
“House Bill 89 increases the threat to the safety of our officers by allowing non-permit holders to carry loaded firearms on their person while in a vehicle,” the police chiefs wrote in a Feb. 1 email sent to lawmakers, “inhibiting [the] ability of our officers to distinguish between a law-abiding citizen and a deviant one.”
Georgians for Gun Safety is also opposed to the measure.
“It erases the distinction that currently exists between someone who can purchase a firearm… and those who can pass the comprehensive background check to get a concealed weapons permit,” said Alice Johnson, executive director of Georgians for Gun Safety, which promotes responsible gun ownership.
“Many people are turned down for those permit applications because of something in their background that was identified because of that more comprehensive background check.”
Permalink | Comments (173) | Categories: Public safety
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