In what is likely to be the biggest gun law approved this year, the Georgia House Monday approved a measure to let constables to carry guns in public buildings.
Constables, who serve warrants and other paperwork for some counties’ Magistrate Courts, had been among law enforcement officers who could carry weapons in government buildings until a code change last year.
John Yates, the Griffin Republican who pushed House Bill 266, said returning constables to the list will correct an oversight and also address a safety issue for those workers, who are not certified law enforcement officers.
“The constables carry their weapons throughout the county but have to leave them in their car when they enter the courthouse,” he said. “It’s a dangerous situation.”
The bill passed 161-2. It now heads to the Senate for review and expected approval.
Several other proposals to expand gun rights – allowing everything from guns in church to letting retired judges carry weapons – have sat in committee all year.
Far from stalled, the bills are likely to end up combined in a comprehensive gun-rights’ measure for a vote next year, said Rich Golick, head of the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee where some of the proposals are being reviewed.
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