HB 859 passed its final hurdle by a Senate floor vote of 37 to 17 today. It now goes to Governor Deal's desk, who has promised to sign it.
Moms Demand Action is not giving up though. They foolishly believe that if they flood the Governor's office with phone calls that he will go back on his word. Not a chance!
College students, staff, and any other adult licensed to carry, may now exercise their right of self-defense and carry a concealed firearm for the protection of themselves and others around them on any public college campus in our state.
Only dorms, frat houses, and athletic events will remain off-limits. Once the General Assembly sees how well the new law will work, I'm sure even those gun-free zones will be rightfully eliminated.
If you are about to enter college and are 21 and over, consider coming to Georgia where you can get an education and don't have to surrender your liberty to protect your own life against armed criminals or terrorists.
Carry in campus parking lots has been legal since 2010 with SB 308, and we've had no shooting duels over parking spaces, even though that was predicted by the fearmongerers.
Likewise, this new law will see none of the parade of horribles prophesied by the gloom and doom anti-freedom merchants.
One thing was revealed in all its nakedness, however, in the debate of this bill. And that is the low view that Democrat lawmakers and their groupies have of college students. To hear them tell it, adult students are drunkards, druggies, mentally ill, suicidal, immature, and willing to murder over grades or touchy subjects discussed in class.
Perhaps these students may have a good idea now who to vote for next time!
*** Private colleges may wish to beef up their security, since criminals and terrorists will likely move from public college hard targets to easier gun-free zone targets. ***
Well, backstabbing Gov. Deal proved me wrong with his veto of HB 859. I assume he will also do the same to HB 280. The Georgia Legislature (more properly, Georgia General Assembly) under the Gold Dome is just running in circles here. A veto override would have been simpler and quicker than trying to get a different but almost identical bill on Deal's desk.
ReplyDeleteDeal is too beholding to the Georgia Board of Regents which has an iron fist grip on collegiate level education in the public arena.
He has eye on a post-gubernatorial career prize from the B.O.R., and he won't disappoint Hank Huckaby.