Among the information parents are learning at freshman orientation sessions underway at Georgia public colleges, their 18-year-olds could be sitting next to armed classmates in classrooms, dining halls and tailgating parties.
Georgia's infamous campus carry law goes into effect in eight days, permitting for the first time conceal carry on public colleges. The law cites a few places where guns will still be outlawed, including sporting events. However, guns will be permitted at tailgating events outside stadiums and sports venues.
That was made clear in the guidelines released by the University System of Georgia after the Legislature approved campus carry this spring and Gov. Nathan Deal signed it. (Deal signed the controversial bill despite the fact his office received 14,873 calls, emails and letters opposed to it and only 145 in favor.)
Here is part of the memo:
I must point out while legislators deferred to worried parents and prohibited guns in classrooms where high school students are dual enrolled, those teens can still be exposed to firearms in other places on campus -- dining halls, student centers, recital halls, coffee shops, campus quads, theaters and bookstores.
Jeff Ploussard of Gwinnett County is the parent of two students at public colleges in Georgia. In this short piece, he urges Georgias to press the state to ban guns from tailgating events. Ploussard gives lawmakers the benefit of the doubt and assumes they will want to close what he calls the tailgate party loophole. Legislators were made aware the law didn't specify tailgating among the gun-free zones. It didn't faze them.
By Jeff Ploussard
The University System of Georgia issued guidelines a few weeks ago for implementing House Bill 280, the so-called “campus carry” bill signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal. Under the new gun law — for the first time ever — Georgia weapons license holders will be allowed to carry concealed handguns into classrooms and other places on Georgia’s public college and university campuses.
Notwithstanding the new law, several wise and sensible gun-free zones will remain on campuses and are specified in HB 280. For example, handguns will continue to be prohibited in stadiums, arenas and other facilities used for athletic sporting events. Unfortunately, according to the USG guidelines and in an apparent oversight by lawmakers, this prohibition doesn’t extend to the so-called ‘tailgating” areas outside these athletic facilities.
College tailgate parties typically revolve around the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Given the clear and well documented linkage between alcohol and gun violence, lawmakers will want to quickly amend the new law by keeping these “tailgating” areas gun-free in order to maximize public safety on Georgia college campuses on game days.
The new campus carry gun law is scheduled to take effect on July 1, and the first home football game tailgate parties for the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech are September 2nd and September 4th, respectively. Now is the time to contact the powers that be to express your opinion and urge them to work together to close the “tailgate party” loophole as soon as possible.
Here is a list of the individuals and organizations that have the most financial leverage and political influence to expeditiously close the “tailgate party” loophole:
Nathan Deal (404-656-1776)
Board of Regents (404-962-3049)
Your State Representative (Georgia House)
Your State Senator (Georgia Senate)
NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association (317-917-6222)
SEC Southeastern Conference (205-458-3000)
ACC Atlantic Coast Conference (336-854-8787 feedback@theacc.org)
Closing the dangerous “tailgate party” loophole now will signal to thousands of citizens that their voices have been heard by our legislators and other stakeholders in Georgia’s system of higher education.
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