Gun bills begin to move forward

House Bill 512 would make it legal to carry firearms into bars, churches and parts of college campuses.

The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee voted at about 8:30 p.m. on the bill sponsored by Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper.

While House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, has previously said to expect no “dramatic shift” in the state’s gun laws, HB 512 has moved swiftly since being introduced just last week.

Georgians who have gone through the process to get a weapons permit should not face so many restrictions on where they may carry a gun, Jasperse said.

“People who have licenses, our most law-abiding citizens — fingerprinted, go through background checks and follow the rules — should be allowed to carry in these areas,” he said.

HB 512 has drawn opposition from the University System of Georgia and people such as Laura Bowen, a counselor at Gordon State College in Barnesville. Bowen told the committee that there are times she has “concerns about the level of maturity and the ability of the student to make a rational decision.”

SB 101, which the Senate passed 41-10, would not be considered a dramatic shift in the state’s gun laws, although it could face alterations in the House.

Under the bill, the state would be prohibited from keeping any sort of database about who is issued a weapons carry license. Georgia would get out of the business of licensing gun dealers. Out-of-state gun owners with permission to carry guns at home would be allowed to carry guns here.

The Senate’s Judiciary Non-Civil Committee also added a provision that would lower to 18 the state’s prohibition on anyone under the age of 21 from carrying a gun, but only for military service members who have completed basic training. The language mirrors a separate bill introduced this year that has not yet reached the floor.

The provision does not mandate an honorable discharge, which troubled several senators who voted against the bill. So did the provision about public housing. “You’re proposing an expanded access to guns in a climate deeply troubled by” events including the Newtown school massacre, said Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta.

But the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Frank Ginn, R-Danielsville, said: “One of the things I don’t want to see happen is the federal government create a dream world where firearms don’t exist. I want to try to make sure law-abiding citizens have access and can protect themselves per their Second Amendment rights.”