[gunsmoker]

Here's a suggestion for our school zone law:
Announce that we just want to simplify things my copying the federal law passed by Congress 25 years ago.



Meaning, the law only applies to guns, not knives or landscaping tools, and it has a blanket exception for all GWL holders, period. Regardless of one's reason for visiting the school.


BUT, we'd have to modify the federal law a bit:
-- eliminate the 1000 foot "zone"
-- add colleges and universities, too.
-- add reciprocity, since the federal law is worded to deny reciprocity
-- allow unlicensed persons to have gun in locked vehicle, or locked compartment or box on vehicle, IF they are on property for any one of a few legit reasons. Picking up or dropping off students, attending scheduled event sponsored by the school, meeting school officials or staff for purpose related to a student's education.

 

[gunsmoker]

Since this bill would allow "campus carry" I'm sure Gov Deal would veto it.
(Guns and young people don't mix, remember?)
But if we pitch it as modeled after longstanding federal law,
which has allowed campus carry with a same-state carry license for decades,
we could get a super-majority of legislators to override the veto.

 

[gunsmoker]

Bump.

I think it's time to do this.

We aren't making much progress repealing the existing state anti-gun laws regarding schools and colleges. HB 280 was a very small step in that direction, but it only allows carry on SOME areas of the campus, which are not easily identified and avoided. And it only applies to public colleges. I want a pro-carry reform bill that will apply to private universities and trade schools and technical schools. And Pre-K through high school facilities, too. Either public or private. Including all the big churches that have a religious school on the same property as the church / temple.

The feds have had a federal "gun control law" for schools in place for nearly 30 years.
Yeah, it's been around since 1990. The Supreme Court struck it down on a technicality, so Congress re-passed it while chanting the magic words that SCOTUS told them they needed to say to make it enforceable. The law's been upheld numerous times since then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-Free_School_Zones_Act_of_1990

Let's model our State law after the feds' law. Including the best part--blanket exceptions for all GWL permit holders. And, I'd suggest any other out-of-state visitor with a home-state carry permit when their state has reciprocity with GA.

 

[gunsmoker]

Coffee shops, shoe stores, department stores, and restaurants are almost always "private property" too. Thus they can make their own rule about weapons carry and enforce that rule by way of the criminal trespass law if push comes to shove.

Why should a private "school" be treated differently than a private hospital or movie theater?

 

[gunsmoker]

Well, museums do. And hospitals. And a few other kinds of places that are publicly-supported or subsidized. And yet THEY don't get the State banning guns for them-- if they're private entities and want guns banned, they have to pass a rule and enforce it on their own, unless things go so far that it becomes a criminal trespass offense.

 

[gunsmoker]

It's 2-10 years.

16-11-127.1 (b)(2) Any person who is not a license holder who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.00, by imprisonment for not less than two nor more than ten years, or both.

-------Emphasis added---------