Georgia: Safe Carry Protection Act

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BarryLee

New member
For those in Georgia House Bill HB 875 the Safe Carry Protection Act has been filed. I’ve included a link to a summary at the Georgia Carry.org WEB site and they’ll have a link to the formal bill when it becomes available.

The bill includes most everything that has been proposed in the past with the exception of Campus Carry which is pretty much a dead issue. Take a moment to review the summary and/or actual Bill then be prepared to contact the appropriate elected officials.

http://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/2014/01/28/hb-875-safe-carry-protection-act-filed/
 
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Another bill related to Second Amendment freedoms has been submitted in the Georgia Senate. Sen. Vincent Fort has submitted SB 280 to repeal Georgia’s No Duty to Retreat law. The Bill is scheduled to be heard in committee tomorrow afternoon. I doubt this has much chance of passing, but we shouldn’t get too passive. If you have time follow the link below and call/email the committee members and express your opposition to this Bill.

http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2014/1/georgia-self-defense-under-attack.aspx

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20132014/SB/280
 
I've already spoken to a couple of Senators about SB 280. It's pretty much DOA.

As for HB 875, it's got some problems. The first is this:

Requires carrying of GWL when carrying a weapon or for exempt persons, proof they are exempt. A person carrying a weapon shall not be subject to detention for the sole purpose of investigating whether such person has a weapons carry license.
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This takes us back to the notion that the GWL is an affirmative defense to prosecution, something that was fixed by HB 308 a few years back. I see no benefit to giving this power to law enforcement.

The second problem is the fact that this is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, with a great number of provisions. If legislators object to one provision, then the whole bill is jeopardized. Frankly, many portions of this are redundant, and are already covered in other bills.

SB 74 will allow issuance of carry licenses to those who have completed "basic training in any branch of the United States military or the United States Coast Guard." (I think we should skip this and focus on simply lowering the overall age limit for licenses to 18 across the board.

SB 138 is a school safety-officer bill.

SB 197 is a bill to keep records of carry licenses confidential.

This is a short and crowded legislative session, and we don't need to be crowding it with redundant bills.
 
The second problem is the fact that this is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, with a great number of provisions. If legislators object to one provision, then the whole bill is jeopardized.
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Yes, I thought the same thing it is definitely an all or nothing strategy. I suppose two things are influencing this obviously the shorter session this year and the upcoming race for governor. While the current Governor has never been a huge supporter of the 2A his opponent is most likely even less friendly to gun rights. So, there may be some urgency to pass as much as possible this year since there may be less opportunity in the future.
 
While the current Governor has never been a huge supporter of the 2A his opponent is most likely even less friendly to gun rights.
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Are you talking about an opponent within his party or from the other major party in the state?

Anyone heard anything on hunting with a suppressor? Trying again this year?

Thanks.
 
For those that might be interested HB 875 is scheduled for a vote in the House on February 18, so contact your Representative and make your opinion known.
 
Just a quick update on the progress of the Safe Carry Protection Act. After a good bit of back and forth political wrangling between the House and Senate HB875 has evolved into HB60. The Bill is currently in flux so I’m not sure there is a current copy available, but I’ve linked to a couple of articles that give an overview of the current makeup.

The Senate has passed the current version of the Bill and returned it to the House. The House can either agree with the current wording or disagree. If they agree the Bill goes to the Governor if they disagree the Bill goes to a committee.

The HB60 does not include everything, but overall it seems like a decent Bill. So, if interested take a moment to review and let the Governor/Senate/House know how you feel. Remember the session ends tomorrow.

http://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/2014/03/19/hb60-passes-senate-with-amendments-37-18/

http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2014/3/georgia-comprehensive-pro-gun-reform-bill-needs-your-active-help-today.aspx?s=&st=10474&ps=
 
I personally haven’ followed this issues too closely, but Senate Bill 93 has been filed to allow the use of suppressors.
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It's in its second reading in the House. It still has a chance this year. The language has also been incorporated into HB 60.

That said, HB 60 is back in conference, and with only one day left in the current session, I'm not optimistic.
 
HB 60 is back in conference, and with only one day left in the current session, I'm not optimistic.
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Yes, it is concerning that similar proposals also died in conference or committee last year. I wonder if some of the Senators don’t want to go on record voting against the Bill, but are perfectly happy to use various tactics to more or less kill it.
 
It could just be a matter of priorities and procedure. When a bill gets changed, it has to go back through the whole process. We're too close to the wire to keep throwing stuff in and expecting legislators to keep it their top priority.

This is why I'm not a fan of omnibus bills. Legislators have a lot of other stuff on their plate. Keeping track of changes to something like this takes a lot of effort.
 
Well, it appears that HB 60 has passed and will be sent to the Governor for his signature. I’m not really sure exactly what the final Bill looks like, but it appears to be very similar to the version that the Senate passed earlier this week. There were some last minute efforts to add Campus Carry back into the Bill, but I believe the Governor hinted that he would not sign the Bill if it was included.

Just a side note several Bills related to issues impacting children failed to pass for various reasons. The anti-gun folks have wasted little time in stating that Georgia places a higher priority on guns than on children. Oh, well even though one issue had nothing to do with the other I guess it is good propaganda.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/georgia-lawmakers-pass-sweeping-gun-bill/nfHn6/
 
Thanks for the update.

If I had no knowledge of the current laws, the linked article would have made me think 'silencers' were illegal in GA. Also, based on the linked article, I would have thought the State House was trying to force private organizations (Churches) to allow the carrying of firearms on their private property. That would be a real infringement on property rights, had that actually been the case. Great reporting AJC! :rolleyes:
 
Great reporting AJC!
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Yes, the local media has done a terrible job of covering this issue. I’m not sure how much of it is journalistic laziness or actual agenda driven, but it has really been irritating.

To their credit the AJC did run an article a few weeks back showing how statements by Gabby Gifford’s group Americans for Responsible Solutions were inaccurate.

http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2014/3/georgia-charges-by-national-anti-gun-group-dispelled-about-pro-gun-reform.aspx?s=&st=10474&ps=
 
Well, looks like the Governor is planning to sign HB 60 the Safe Carry Protection Act next Wednesday 4/23. As a matter of fact not only is he planning to sign the Bill, but there will be free BBQ severed after the ceremony. I suppose this plays in to some sort of old southern stereotype about guns and BBQ, but I suppose the reality is we love both. Anyway, if you’re interested in attending see the link below for details.

http://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/2014/04/18/hb60-to-be-signed-wednesday-april-23/
 
I've done a bit more reading, and there's a bit of a gotcha in the section related to silencers:

The use of silencers or suppressors for hunting within this state is prohibited; provided, however, that a silencer or suppressor may be used for hunting on the private property of the person using such silencer or suppressor, on private property for which the owner of such property has provided verifiable permission to the person using such silencer or suppressor, and on public lands in areas designated by the department.
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If you're hunting on someone else's land (including leased land), make sure you've got an explicit note from the owner.
 
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