Lawmakers want to allow guns on campus

Georgia lawmakers will again consider a plan to allow guns on the state's college campuses.

Reps. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, and Mandi Ballinger, R-Canton, on Wednesday filed House Bill 859, which would make it legal for any age 21 or older with a state weapons license to carry guns onto public college and university campuses. The only place firearms would remain banned are in dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses and at athletic events.

Jasperse was the author of a broader gun rights bill in 2014 that opened many government buildings, parks, sporting events and bars to firearms. That bill originally allowed guns on campus but the so-called "campus carry" provision was stripped by the Senate.

HB 859 has the support of top House Republicans, including Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, and Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, the chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, which decides which bills reach the House floor.

Critics of the plan said guns will make campuses more dangerous. The University System of Georgia, a powerful lobbying force at the Capitol, opposes any change in state law dealing with guns on its campuses.

For more, see our full report on myajc.com.