A move to expand access to guns across Georgia drew more high-profile opponents Wednesday when some of the state’s top religious leaders spoke out against the effort, despite its support by some of the state’s top lawmakers.
House Bill 875 received its first hearing in committee just hours after a spokesman for Catholic Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, Rabbi Peter Berg of The Temple synagogue in Atlanta and more than a dozen pastors and priests gathered in a church sanctuary across the street from the Capitol to denounce the legislation.
The bill would lift restrictions on guns in churches and bars, allow school boards to arm employees and make an end run around a ban on licensed owners carrying guns on college campuses by making it no longer a crime.
“We don’t want to be in a position where we have to post a giant sign in front of the church or synagogue that says ‘no guns allowed,’ ” said Berg, whose synagogue is the largest in Georgia, with more than 1,500 families. The bill, he said, “introduces weapons of destruction into houses of worship, one of the few places in the world people can go for a sense of serenity. … Nothing sets the tone for meaningful prayer like a picture with a gun on it.”
Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, the primary sponsor of HB 875, testified later Wednesday before the House Public Safety Committee and said his bill helps protect the rights of those who follow the law. The committee will continue testimony on the bill at 4 p.m. Thursday in Room 606 of the legislative office building across from the Capitol.
The bill, Jasperse said, would establish a method for ensuring those deemed mentally ill don’t qualify for a license to carry in Georgia. It would also permit honorably discharged military veterans under 21 years of age to carry a concealed weapon and allow licensed owners to carry guns into government buildings that don’t have “active” security screening.
Permit holders, he said, are “responsible citizens of Georgia.”
“They work hard and play by our rules,” Jasperse said. “They follow the law.”
That is in contrast to people who commit gun-related crimes.
“Those who break the law, they don’t heed what we’re doing here today,” Jasperse said. “They do not care. Limiting the rights of law-abiding citizens will not prevent random acts of violence by non-law-abiding citizens.”
Opponents, who packed the Capitol to attend that hearing and a separate hearing about Senate Bill 280, which would repeal Georgia's "stand your ground" law, said conversely that they do not believe expanding gun rights makes them safer. Most of those who testified Wednesday opposed Jasperse's bill but supported SB 280. Others are expected to testify Thursday in support of Jasperse's bill.
“We reject the notion that more guns held by more people will magically make our communities safer,” said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, the former pulpit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Members of the state Board of Regents, which governs the powerful University System of Georgia and system Chancellor Hank Huckaby, a former legislator who still holds sway with his former colleagues, have also strongly opposed expansion efforts — particularly involving guns on campus. Last week, the Georgia Municipal Association said HB 875 would take away cities’ power to set their own guidelines for where weapons are allowed.
The House last year passed a comprehensive gun bill that included universal campus carry for any student 21 or older who passes a background check and obtains a permit. The Senate balked at the idea, however, and the gun bill faltered in the final days of the 2013 session.
About the Author
