Second Amendment Protection Act of 2008

Ah, the "anti-Bloomberg" bill. Good for you Georgia, go get 'em!

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Change confusing gun laws

The "Second Amendment Protection Act of 2008," HB 915, has been pre-filed with the Georgia General Assembly. This bill, sponsored by state Rep. Timothy Bearden (R-68), will try to make some sense of Georgia's sometimes confusing gun laws. Many people do not realize that Georgia has more places off-limits to carrying a firearm than any other state in the nation that permits the carry of a firearm. California has fewer places off-limits than Georgia, which means that a Californian can carry in more places in anti-gun California than a Georgian can in supposedly gun-friendly Georgia. The Second Amendment Protection Act of 2008, among other things, will bring Georgia's laws into alignment with the will of the majority of Georgians.

MARK McCULLOUGH, Conyers

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Gun bill draws some opposition
By Winston Jones

Local police officers and some lawmakers are voicing opposition to a bill introduced last week by Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) which would extensively change state gun laws.

However, Bearden, who represents a portion of Douglas County, said Wednesday that House Bill (HB) 915, the “Second Amendment Protection Act of 2008,” is simply giving law-abiding Georgians the same rights to carry guns that most other states already have.

“Georgia is the most restrictive state in the nation on Second Amendment rights,” he said. “Even states like California and Oregon have better laws than Georgia. This is not reinventing the wheel. It’s just using statutes from other states.”
He said the proposed law is for law abiding people over 21 years of age, who have undergone mental and criminal checks and are licensed to carry guns.

Bearden said HB 915 would also give property owners the right to decide if they want firearms on their property at churches, schools or public gatherings. He said Georgia is one of only a few states that doesn’t already allow this.

Greatest opposition to HB 915 is to the section which would allow carrying firearms to public gatherings and at places of employment.
“I believe everybody should have a right to own and carry a gun, but not at public gatherings,” said Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller. “It’s a bad mix. I can imagine what might happen at a concert where there’s drinking, music and guns.”

Terry Norris, executive vice president of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, said Wednesday his group hasn’t yet taken a position on the bill.

“We will be looking at the bill during the next few days,” Norris said.
Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) feels the bill would put more guns on the street and increase the risk for law enforcement officers.

“I don’t believe you can hold employers accountable for safety in the workplace and not be able to restrict firearms,” Bruce said. “You don’t want a disgruntled employee to be able to walk out to his car, get a gun and start shooting. I believe in the right to bear arms, but responsibility goes along with that right.”

Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) voiced similar concerns.
“I’m opposed to making guns more readily available, particularly at public meetings,” Brooks said. “We have too many guns in circulation and I’m not in favor of making them more accessible. It’s all right to have guns in the home, but I want to get guns off the street, not put more out there.”

Bearden said the only people who abide by the gun-free zones are law abiding citizens.

“The criminals love them,” he said. “When they start shooting, somebody has to call 911 and wait at least three to six minutes before police arrive. The government should be in a position to allow people to take care of themselves.”
Other sections of HB 915 would prohibit the government from seizing firearms from citizens such as happened after Hurricane Katrina, force probate judges to issue gun permits within 45 days if no detrimental information comes back in that time on background checks and prohibit sending people from other states to Georgia to make “straw purchases” of guns (Bloomberg amendment).

Most of the provisions of HB 915 are backed by GeorgiaCarry.org, a gun rights group that has been fighting for changes in the public gathering laws.

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NRA Hasn't Weighed-In Yet On Bearden Bill, But National Gun Group Won't Like It
By Dick Pettys
InsiderAdvantage Georgia

(1/3/07) The NRA hasn’t weighed-in yet, but it looks like we’re going to have a shootout at the Georgia General Assembly this year over two competing gun bills.

We’ve told you previously about the NRA’s main bill – the parking lot guns bill which would prohibit employers from taking steps to bar their workers from having guns in cars parked at the workplace. The bill was introduced last year and was blocked by a strong coalition of business groups arguing that it would violate private property rights. The measure remains alive this year, however, and remains the NRA’s top priority.

We’ve also told you about a rival proposal by Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Villa Rica, and a group called GeorgiaCarry.org, which does a number of other things. Among them: Mayor Bloomberg would face criminal penalties for sending undercover agents to Georgia to try to get gun shops to sell to “straw purchasers,” the government couldn’t seize weapons as Louisiana authorities sought to do after Hurricane Katrina, and Georgia’s carry laws would be substantially overhauled.

One link between them is procedural. Last year, Bearden passed a much less complicated bill through the House intended to give people more latitude in carrying guns in their autos. In the Senate, it became a vehicle for the NRA to bring its parking lot bill back to life after the original proposal ran afoul of a Senate deadline. The omnibus bill - now HB 89 - did not reach a vote on the Senate floor.

But there’s more. Some of the GeorgiaCarry folks think the NRA is out of step with what Georgia sportsmen and shooters want, and is putting forward its plan as a counter-measure. (It does, however, contain some things the NRA wants and has supported in other states, and some of the backers don’t view the upcoming fight so much as a confrontation with the NRA as a simple disagreement among advocates of gun rights.)

Now for the meat in the cocoanut. Bearden’s bill – prefiled last week as HB 915 – contains this language:

"Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit, restrict, or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of a private property owner, unless such private property has been leased to a government entity, and nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit, restrict, or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of a private tenant, private employer, or private business entity."

That, according to those who have looked at the law carefully, makes the NRA’s guns-in-the-parking-lot effort moot, and, at the proper time, you can bet the national gun group will weigh-in with both barrels. It’s already warned lawmakers that the issue will be the only thing it judges on its legislative scorecard - - and this is an election year.

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National gun group likely to blast Bearden bill

ATLANTA - A pair of bills about gun rights are likely to lead to a shootout of sorts during the session of the General Assembly that starts in two weeks because they have competing aims.

The first bill is a holdover from last year and has the backing of the National Rifle Association. It would prohibit employers from taking steps to bar their workers from having guns in cars parked at the workplace.

The NRA bill was introduced last year and was blocked by a strong coalition of business groups arguing that it would violate private-property rights. The measure is alive this year, however, and remains the NRA's top priority.

A rival proposal by Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Villa Rica, and a group called GeorgiaCarry.org, does a number of other things. Among them: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would face criminal penalties for sending undercover agents to Georgia to try to get gun shops to sell to "straw purchasers" with plans for reselling in other states, the government couldn't seize weapons as Louisiana authorities sought to do after Hurricane Katrina, and Georgia's carry laws would be substantially overhauled.

One link between the two bills is procedural. Last year, Bearden passed a much less complicated bill through the House intended to give people more latitude in carrying guns in their autos. In the Senate, it became a vehicle for the NRA to bring its parking-lot bill back to life after the original proposal ran afoul of a Senate deadline. The omnibus bill - now House Bill 89 - did not reach a vote on the Senate floor.

But there's more. Some of the GeorgiaCarry folks think the NRA is out of step with what Georgia sportsmen and shooters want, and is putting forward its plan as a counter-measure. (It does, however, contain some things the NRA wants and has supported in other states, and some of the backers don't view the upcoming fight so much as a confrontation with the NRA as a simple disagreement among advocates of gun rights.)

Now for the meat in the coconut. Bearden's bill - prefiled last week as HB 915 - contains this language:

"Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit, restrict, or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of a private-property owner, unless such private property has been leased to a government entity, and nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit, restrict, or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of a private tenant, private employer, or private business entity."

That, according to those who have looked at the law carefully, makes the NRA's guns-in-the-parking-lot effort moot. And, at the proper time, you can bet the national gun group will weigh-in with both barrels, the analysts say.

The NRA already has warned lawmakers that the issue will be the only thing the national organization judges on its legislative scorecard - and this is an election year.

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Gun bills way off the mark
Legislation would expand rights to a scattershot, irresponsible degree

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/06/08

Asked about priorities in their communities, most Georgians would offer a similar list of pressing needs — improved transit, better schools and comprehensive water planning. Few, if any, would call for more guns on their streets.

Yet the General Assembly will devote hours to extremist gun bills built around the fantasy that average Georgians cannot go unarmed to work, school or the dry cleaners. That nightmarish depiction of daily life in Georgia is not shared by most voters, who would rather see their elected officials deal with education, gridlock and drought.

Voters are simmering in traffic because the General Assembly has fought mass transit. They are bemoaning the loss of art and music in their schools to legislative budget cuts. And they're watching their last azalea bush die because state leaders ignored dwindling water resources for years.

Those voters, however, aren't circling the Capitol, as the gun fanatics are. While real life and real pain occupy those voters, gun lobbyists are filling lawmakers with tales of defenseless soccer moms who need their revolvers at the Wal-Mart Supercenter and nervous insurance agents who can't go from Canton to Cobb without a pistol in their shoulder holsters.

The National Rifle Association and other gun groups employ the same fear tactics to force legislators to do their bidding: Support us or be burned at the political stake. The NRA has lost clout in many states, where stark statistics on gun violence have overcome its hyperbolic rhetoric about black helicopters and jackbooted thugs.

But Georgia politicians remain cowed, privately admitting that many NRA-backed measures are dangerous to the public but supporting them anyway to dodge an "F" rating by the gun group. Lawmakers are so intimidated that they'd vote to replace Uga, the Georgia Bulldog, with a Pekinese before they would approve even mild restraints on firearms.

That's why voters can expect lawmakers to give serious consideration to an NRA bill permitting employees to keep guns in cars parked on corporate lots. A reverence for property rights and strong opposition from the business sector scuttled the bill last year, but the NRA won't be dissuaded.

A second gun bill — House Bill 915, or the "Second Amendment Protection Act of 2008" — also threatens public safety. Most Georgians support responsible gun ownership, but the far-reaching HB 915 expands the rights of gun owners without expanding any of their responsibilities.

"Under Georgia law now, you can't drink and hunt," says Alice Johnson, director of Georgians for Gun Safety. "But under this bill, you can drink and carry your gun to a bar or an athletic event or while tailgating. There are no incentives or requirements in his bill to be responsible and safe, not a single one."

Sponsored by Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica), HB 915 ought to be called the Crooked Gun Dealer Protection Act because it forbids sting operations that use private detectives to catch gun dealers breaking the law. The provision takes direct aim at New York City's successful campaign to expose the high number of straw purchases occurring in Southern gun shops. Straw purchases occur when a buyer who legally can't own a gun — mainly because he has a criminal record — brings a friend to fill out the mandated federal background check. New York undertook its undercover investigation after federal gun-tracing data revealed that weapons linked to more than 500 crimes in the city from 1994 to 2001 came from out-of-state dealers, including five in Georgia.

Bearden also wants people to get guns faster; his bill requires expedited issuance of firearm licenses, even allowing people to obtain a provisional permit before a full background check is complete in some cases. (Apparently, Bearden believes licenses ought to be issued at birth.)

And if the buyer has to wait too long, Bearden's bill states: "The applicant may bring an action in mandamus or other legal proceeding ... and such applicant shall be entitled to recover his or her costs in such action, including reasonable attorney fees." It's not clear who the gun owner is supposed to sue, but it's a safe bet that taxpayers of Georgia would end up paying the tab. The bill also says that the state can no longer seize guns in a declared official state of emergency. And gun owners whose guns are taken under order from the governor can also sue.

Bearden's legislation goes well beyond a chicken in every pot; he wants a Colt in every pub. He eliminates virtually all the existing limits on where weapons can legally be carried in Georgia. His bill strikes the long-standing ban on weapons at "public gathering" sites, including private schools, athletic events, churches, colleges, political rallies, bars and public buildings, such as libraries and city halls.

That's just what the moms and dads of Bearden's district want — to bring the kiddies to a Braves game and end up next to an unhappy drunk with a Glock.

— Maureen Downey, for the editorial board

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NRA's Wayne LaPierre Won't Have Stage Entirely To Himself At Georgia Capitol Monday

(1/4/08) The NRA’s top honcho, Wayne LaPierre, is coming to the Georgia Capitol Monday to make a full-court press for the parking lot guns bill that failed to pass last year’s Legislature, but he won’t have the stage entirely to himself.

NRA members who think the national organization is shooting wide of the mark are being urged to come to the Capitol also that day to push for a rival bill being backed by GeorgiaCarry.Org.

That bill, HB 915, re-works the Georgia “carry” laws, contains a provision aimed at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and any others who send agents to Georgia gun shops to try to make bogus purchases, and blocks the NRA’s effort to pass HB 89, the national group’s highest priority measure.

HB 89 is the parking lot guns bill. It would prohibit employers from making rules to prohibit workers from keeping guns in their cars on company premises. The NRA contends it’s a 2nd Amendment issue. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce and a number of other groups contend the bill violates private property rights.

The business groups kept the bill from passing last year. NRA is fighting desperately to pass the measure and has warned lawmakers it is the one and only scorecard issue it will judge them on in this election year.

LaPierre and Chris Cox, the group’s chief lobbyist, announced Friday they will be at the statehouse on Monday to talk to lawmakers about the bill, and then plan to hold a news conference.

At about the same time, NRA members who oppose HB 89 are being urged to meet by Gen. Robert E. Lee’s picture on the second floor of the Capitol to make their position known. GeorgiaCarry is organizing a rally of its own at the Capitol on Jan. 10 to push for HB 915.

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Kevin Lamons: Proposed state gun bill won't lead to gunfights

I support the proposed state House Bill 915, popularly known as the Second Amendment Protection Act, sponsored by former police officer Rep. Timothy Bearden, R-Villa Rica.

HB 915 undoubtedly will be controversial. However, the debate should be based on fact and not emotion. It's a fact that most of Georgia's gun laws were written in order to prevent blacks from carrying guns. It's a fact that crime occurs everywhere, without exception. It's a fact that many legal gun owners in New Orleans have yet to have their confiscated weapons returned to them, more than two years after Hurricane Katrina.

Opponents of this bill will have you think passage of HB 915 will lead to gunfights in the streets and will endanger the lives of both police officers and residents. There are no facts to support their claim. There currently are 300,000 Georgia firearms license holders and all have submitted to intense criminal background checks.

The intent of HB 915 is not to increase the number of persons carrying guns. The intent is to better enumerate the places that are off limits to law-abiding firearms license holders. With recent events in our own community, it is painfully clear there are no places off limits to violent criminals.

Please don't make me or my family a victim because I choose to follow the law and disarm myself in places Georgia currently considers off limits. Please don't make me a criminal because I accidentally forget to disarm while enjoying a family dinner at a restaurant that serves alcohol.

Kevin Lamons

Bogart

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 010708

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Backers of gun bills take fight to Capitol

By Andrea Jones
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/10/08

The battle over Georgia gun legislation is getting a jump-start at the Capitol this week, as supporters of two opposing bills headed to the Gold Dome to fight for their cause.

Supporters of House Bill 915, a broad bill to allow gun owners to carry their weapons into far more places in the state, will rally today to try to drum up support.

Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association's Executive President Wayne LaPierre made a rare appearance at the Legislature Monday to push HB 89, which would allow employees to carry guns in their cars to work.

A frustrated LaPierre said the bill, which was quashed last year by the efforts of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, has made it through other state legislatures unopposed, including Oklahoma and Missouri.

"I find it somewhat astonishing that the Georgia Chamber has bucked the trend."

Critics of the bill say it will infringe on property owners' rights.

Bob Thorton, a Georgia NRA member who sported a T-shirt with the words, "Wayne Never Asked Me," said House Bill 89 puts the Second and Fourth amendments of the Constitution squarely at odds.

"You've got the right to bear arms and the right to bear property," he said. "One is trying to step on the other."

Thorton and many other Georgia gun advocates are instead backing HB 915.

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