Legislation introduced in the state House on Wednesday would renew the fight over the carrying of guns on college campuses.
House Bill 544, by Rep. Heath Clark, R-Warner Robins, would allow anyone with a weapons permit to take guns on all parts of public college campuses.
Clark said the bill would not prevent weapons from being carried inside stadiums or fraternity houses as previous attempts to pass campus carry did. That could still change, he said, if the bill receives a committee hearing.
But the freshman lawmaker has also introduced House Bill 543, which would no longer require an otherwise qualified individual to obtain a weapons permit. Those licenses would instead be voluntary, he said.
HB 543 would make it legal for anyone over the age of 21 to carry a weapon, with limited exemptions.
Those exemptions include people who have been convicted of certain crimes or been hospitalized as an inpatient in any mental hospital or drug or alcohol treatment center in the past five years.
“The gist behind that is if you’re legally able to obtain a concealed carry license because you don’t have a felony in your background or a mental illness, then it makes having the license voluntary in the state of Georgia,” Clark said. “Most people would still get it. I would still get it for reciprocity if I carry into Florida or Alabama.”
In essence, he said, it would allow Georgians to “exercise your Second Amendment rights without having to ask the state for permission.”
It does not change who may carry a weapon or where it may be carried, Clark said.
The bills face long odds of passage this year. Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, who co-sponsored last year's major rewrite of Georgia's gun laws, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he's not interested in pursuing gun legislation again this year. Meadows is also chairman of the Rules Committee, which decides which bills make it to the House floor for a vote.
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