When told about the concerns of colleges and universities in Georgia over the prospect of legalizing guns on campus, Gov. Nathan Deal said, “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.”

House Bill 859, the campus carry bill, will be heard today at 3 p.m. in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In a guest column today, a University of North Georgia professor argues that guns and education are intertwined and colleges should take a stand against weapons on campus.

Dr. Matthew Boedy says, “I work at a ‘senior military college’ – part of a group that includes The Citadel, Texas A&M, and the site of the most deadly college campus shooting, Virginia Tech. The teachers of our cadets teach leadership, including how to deescalate violence, not encourage it. And they produce heroes like those gun-less veterans who stopped a gunman on that train to Paris. Instead of teaching a gun is always the response to a gun, they teach all types of responses to all types of situations. As the Marines say, how to adapt. They teach these lessons because of the uncertainty we live with.”

To read more about bill and why Boedy and other college professors oppose it, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog on MyAJC.com

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HBCUs nationally will get $438 million, according to the UNCF, previously known as the United Negro College Fund. Georgia has 10 historically Black colleges and universities. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Corbin Spencer, right, field director of New Georgia Project and volunteer Rodney King, left, help Rueke Uyunwa register to vote. The influential group is shutting down after more than a decade. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2017)

Credit: Hyosub Shin