Campus gun veto could carry consequences for Georgia governor

Major bills from the 2016 legislative session that the governor vetoed:

To learn more about these pieces of legislation and others considered during the 2016 session, go to the Georgia Legislative Navigator at http://legislativenavigator.myajc.com/.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto of “campus carry” legislation that would have legalized firearms on public college campuses sets the stage for another battle next year between conservatives and more mainstream Republicans over the party’s direction.

The Republican's decision to reject the gun bill, House Bill 859, after legislative leaders defied his calls for changes to the measure reinforces the rift between them in the waning years of his second term in office.

It is the second high-profile bill championed by conservative lawmakers that he rejected this year, coming on the heels of his decision to veto a “religious liberty” measure that would have expanded legal protections for opponents of same-sex marriage.

Both those measures are sure to resurface next year, when the race for the open governor’s seat and a slate of other statewide offices will be heating up. Deal will have to balance his opposition to both policies with his own plans for a sweeping overhaul of the education system.

‘Not the end’ of discussion

In his veto statement, Deal took issue with supporters of the "campus carry" legislation who cast it as a safety measure for students, faculty and administrators. He wrote that it's "highly questionable" that it would increase the safety of students in Georgia, and he ordered the higher education system to review security measures.

“From the early days of our nation and state, colleges have been treated as sanctuaries of learning where firearms have not been allowed,” he said in the statement. “To depart from such time honored protections should require overwhelming justification. I do not find that such justification exists.”

The campus gun bill was one of 15 that Deal vetoed Wednesday. Another gun bill, House Bill 1060, was among those he vetoed. Deal objected to a section of the bill that would have required places of worship to opt in to bar the carrying of weapons by licensed holders, a reversal of the current law.

But Deal did sign another campus weapons bill, House Bill 792, which will allow anyone 18 years and older to carry a stun gun on campus.

Supporters of the "campus carry" bill vowed to renew the push for the legislation next year. House Speaker David Ralston pointedly said that it is "not the end of the discussion."

“At a time when our Second Amendment rights are under attack, I believed and still believe that it is very important that we do all that is necessary and proper to strengthen our constitutional protections,” he said in a statement. “Georgians should not be required to give up their constitutional rights when they set foot on a college campus.”

The measure was blocked for years by critics including college presidents, who warned that expanding gun rights to campuses would increase the likelihood of violent shootings — and say that some students lack the emotional maturity to carry weapons.

This year — an election year — the tide turned. With support from leadership, lawmakers approved a measure that would allow anyone 21 or older with a weapons license to carry a gun anywhere on a public college or university campus, except for inside four places: dormitories, fraternities and sorority houses, and at athletic events.

Deal, long a skeptic of the measure, initially sounded receptive to it. But shortly after the measure passed, he sent handwritten notes to Ralston and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle urging them to exempt on-campus child care facilities, faculty or administrative office space, and disciplinary meetings in a separate measure.

Both declined to make changes, and Deal was soon deluged with personal appeals from Georgians on all sides of the debate.

Gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association, urged supporters to fight "elitists who don't support your right to self-defense." Gun control advocates countered with their own social media campaigns and staged protests at universities. An Open Records Act request revealed hundreds of emails and letters flooding Deal's office about the policy.

Governor’s agenda at risk

The veto carries political consequences for the governor. He has already alienated many in his party's base with his "religious liberty" veto — Republicans in grass-roots meetings across the state expressed their deep disappointment with Deal, and one group moved to "censure" him — and now he's enraged another group of reliable Republicans.

As a term-limited governor with no further political ambitions, he has the freedom to defy his party's base with a veto. But it is likely to make it harder for Deal to carry out the linchpin of his second-term agenda: a 2017 push to "revolutionize" how the state's education system is funded.

“Those two bills have attracted more attention than pretty much any attention we’ve had in my previous years as governor, and both represent very divided opinions,” Deal said before his decision. “This has not been an easy year to be governor.”

The flurry of emails and social media posts in the hours after the veto only reinforced the message that the debate isn’t over. Lindsey Donovan, the head of the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action, said Deal will now be a model for other Republicans wary of firearm expansion proposals.

“The leadership shown by Governor Deal with this veto should stand as proof to other elected officials that this is not a partisan issue and that they too can stand up to the gun lobby,” she said. “I’m thrilled that our voices were heard and that the will of the gun lobby no longer goes unchecked in the state of Georgia.”

State Rep. Rick Jasperse, the Jasper Republican who sponsored the legislation, was left wondering how to craft the measure next year to appease Deal.

“Of course I’m disappointed at the veto,” he said. “We made it all about victims. It was absolutely about those folks over 21 who are college students, folks who have traditionally never had a problem with law enforcement. I just want people to know, this group of folks we’re talking about have been stellar citizens. They deserve to be able to carry their firearms.”