Each week Northwest Opinions asks readers to comment on a topic in the news. Today, we feature responses to the question: What do you think about the decision to allow licensed gun owners to carry concealed firearms in parks, on public transportation and in restaurants that serve alcohol? Should Gov. Sonny Perdue veto the bill? Or should the bill become law? The governor has until May 14 to make a decision.

> Background: A bill passed by the Legislature to allow licensed gun owners to carry concealed firearms in parks, on public transportation and in restaurants serving liquor is prompting a storm of protest. ("Atlanta mayor, others call for gun bill veto," AJC Metro, April 25.)

MARTA bus drivers have more than 1,000 signatures on a petition demanding bulletproof shields, should Perdue sign House Bill 89 into law. The Georgia Restaurant Association, wondering how waiters and waitresses are to keep patrons who are packing from drinking, is prepared to go to court.

Supporters of the bill say people should be able to protect themselves. State Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica), sponsor of the bill and a former police officer, said law enforcement can't offer enough protection.

"They [police officers] cannot protect you in Atlanta. They never have," Bearden said. "I was in law enforcement 15 years. I never rode up on a shooting in progress. I don't like the idea of the police telling you, 'Get mugged, get raped, get murdered. We'll come by, take the report, or send flowers.' That's the wrong message."

Editor's note: More than a thousand e-mails were received on today's topic. More than 95 percent support HB 89. Letters on today's page are representative of letters received. We'll likely print more on next Thursday's Northwest Opinions page.

No brainer

Of course Gov. Sonny Perdue should sign HB 89.

I find if laughable that the head of MARTA security would posture with the mayor and denounce this bill. Bad guys already carry on the MARTA trains and buses. I challenge you to identify any AJC story over the past 10 years where a law-abiding citizen with a concealed carry permit has committed a crime with their weapon or injured an innocent bystander.

The bad guys know that the easiest target is a defenseless one and every day you write AJC stories telling about the mayhem. Well, it is a provable fact that if criminals are faced with a decision to prey upon a group people who they KNOW are unarmed or a group that MAY BE armed, they will feed upon the weak and those who think that the police are supposed to save them and their families from harm. WRONG THINKING.

If concealed weapons cause all this death and destruction, where are all the mass murder stories at the gun shows?

DAVID NORCROSS, Atlanta

A gun is safe, effective when handled correctly

Why shouldn't law-abiding citizens be allowed to defend themselves? Why should law-abiding citizens have to stand by while criminals have their way?

So, these MARTA drivers are more scared of law-abiding citizens than criminals on the street. Give me a break! Half of these people [protesting the bill] probably couldn't tell you what this bill is about. It seems that only part truths or no truth is reported when it concerns guns.

A gun is a very safe and effective product, when handled and used in the manner in which it was intended.

So, do I think Gov. Perdue should sign HB 89? Dang right I do!

MICHAEL SCOTT, Powder Springs

Sign it

I hope Gov. Perdue will sign HB 89.

CHARLES MILLS, Stone Mountain

Should we be subject to whims of lawless?

It is imperative that we as private citizens can protect ourselves from criminals in any situation.

What Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin fails to realize is that criminals do not care about this bill. Gun control laws only affect law-abiding citizens.

Criminals will have firearms and carry firearms regardless of what any law states.

Until people or their friends/family who oppose such legislation become victims of violent crime, they do not understand the importance of being able to protect themselves.

Remember, police response is not instantaneous. Are we to become subject to the whims of the lawless while awaiting a police response?

JOHN PORTER, Atlanta

Media taking the wrong stance

The governor should sign HB 89 to allow law-abiding Georgians who have undergone a criminal background check by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation —- including fingerprints —- to obtain a concealed-carry permit.

HB 89 makes no difference to criminals who choose to illegally carry weapons and commit crimes. Rather, HB 89 is a protective measure to enable a citizen to defend himself in accordance with the law.

The media, including the AJC, has actively misrepresented HB 89 and taken an anti-Second Amendment rights partisan position. Facts and truth apparently have little importance to the AJC compared to sensationalism. I'm wondering why I continue to subscribe as I receive more relevant content online and in real time.

ROBERT KINDER, Woodstock

Personal protection is at stake

What is on the chopping block here is: Do law-abiding citizens have a right and the actual "opportunity" to protect themselves?

If you are a law-abiding citizen with a legal carry permit and believe the Second Amendment provides for that or should, then you have to support this bill. Remember one must have a concealed carry permit in the first place in order to legally carry in these contested areas. Common sense conceal-carry reform like this is long overdue in Georgia so that innocent people CAN ACTUALLY defend themselves and others.

If we have the "right" then we must also be afforded the "opportunity".

Without the real reform for personal defense that HB 89 provides, we'll continue to have more of the same —- perpetrators and victims.

LEE GRAVES, Cumming

No deterrent means crime does indeed pay

Gov. Perdue should definitely sign this bill into law. Criminals, by definition, do not care about the law. Anyone set on committing a felony will not be deterred by a law that makes it a misdemeanor to carry a firearm into [a restaurant].

You cannot count on the police to protect you. Even the best police force is minutes away when seconds count. Policemen (and women) carry firearms primarily for their own defensive protection, not yours.

No one relishes the idea of shooting in self-defense, but we have become a culture of victims. "Just give the mugger your watch and wallet; your life isn't worth it."

In the short run, that might be the safer solution. Unfortunately, in the long run, it essentially breeds muggers since, as it turns out, crime DOES pay. If there's a greater chance that they might face an armed response, will there be more criminals or less?

JOHN FILLYAW, Tucker

Level field against criminals

HB 89 is an important bill to be approved by our governor. With higher gas prices and the higher cost of living, the amount of crime is bound to rise. It should be the right of all law-abiding citizens of Georgia to carry a weapon to level the field against crime against themselves and others.

SHANE E. CLARK, Atlanta

Sign the bill

The governor should sign HB 89 into law.

J.M. FOUCHE, Marietta

Background checks are sufficient, logical

Gov. Perdue should sign HB 89 immediately. Allowing licensed citizens to carry concealed handguns is simply logical. If a citizen successfully checks out in a state and federal background check, the risk of them committing a crime of any description is quite low.

The absence of a licensed handgun when needed has been eloquently described.

ED OGLETREE, Atlanta

Protect our families

This should be approved. It would be a deterrent to criminals. As it is now, law-abiding citizens will be the only ones unarmed in these locations. We do have a right to protect ourselves and our families.

FRED BUSH, Marietta

God-given right to protect family

If people believe the law will have a negative effect, just take a look at Florida. There have been zero incidents with their citizens (that have a firearm license) when carrying concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol or in public transportation for the past 20 years.

Those that oppose this bill know nothing except how to disarm a responsible citizen and strip them of their God-given right to protect themselves and their families.

JASON MORIN, Atlanta

Sign bill

Many of the public officials who oppose this bill don't go out in public without armed guards —- even to church.

GREG JONES, Villa Rica

Make it so

Should become law, period.

CHARLES BROOMFIELD, Suwanee

Protection is key

Gov. Perdue should sign HB 89. We, citizens, have a right to protect ourselves. Better to have a gun and NOT NEED it, then need a gun and NOT HAVE it!

MARLENE KATTARON, Acworth

Yes, thanks

Governor should approve the law. Thanks for asking.

JOHN P. CARR, Alpharetta

Veto HB 89 to save lives

I urge the governor to VETO the outrageous "Guns in the Workplace" bill that allows employees to bring guns into places of business and anyone to bring guns into restaurants, theaters and even on MARTA. Even more egregious is the fact Georgia business owners could be prosecuted for not allowing guns into their place of business.

How long will it take for a disgruntled or laid off employee to walk to their vehicle or locker and take their frustrations out on their supervisor, co-workers and customers with their "legal" handgun? Or, how long will it take for a drunken argument to break out in a restaurant leading to an escalated gunfight with dozens of innocent Georgians paying the price for this legislation?

As a citizen of Georgia as well as a member of the business community this bill must be stopped for the safety and security of all Georgians.

J.D. McCRARY, Atlanta