The gun grabbers are everywhere these days. They’re all over Facebook and Twitter, but even worse than that, they’re in Congress and in state legislatures across the country. Here in Georgia, one guy is fighting back.
Charles Gregory is a newly elected state representative from Kennesaw, the town often known for its ordinance requiring all heads of household to own a gun. Gregory’s first term in Atlanta hasn’t yet begun, but he’s already at work trying to right some wrongs on gun rights issues.
Gregory has pre-filed four bills that pertain to Georgians’ Second Amendment rights. Instead of legislation that impedes freedom, Gregory’s bills do the exact opposite. Here are the four bills that have been pre-filed for the coming legislative session:
H.B. 26 - Georgia Constitutional Carry Act of 2013
A straightforward Constitutional Carry bill. The 2nd Amendment is your license to carry. Licensing continues for reciprocity reasons. You can read more about Constitutional Carry efforts around the nation here.
H.B. 27 – Restoring Gun Rights During State of Emergency Act of 2013
Revokes the governor’s ability to impede gun rights during a state of emergency. It seems to me that a state of emergency is when you’d want easier access to devices that would help you protect yourself and your family. I suppose it could depend on the emergency, but even still, our Second Amendment rights shouldn’t hinge on a whim of the governor.
H.B. 28 – Restoring Private Property Rights for Places of Worship Act of 2013
Allows churches to decide for themselves whether or not to allow weapons to be carried on their premises. I think this is really more of a private property rights issue than anything else. The issue isn’t my right to carry at church; the issue is the church’s right to allow (or deny) it.
H.B. 29 – Georgia Campus Carry Act of 2013
Allows weapons to be carried on college campuses. I’d expect pretty tough opposition to this one with a “college kids are typically not responsible people” argument. Still, people who get a concealed weapons permit are typically those who understand the importance of firearm safety. Also, there’s the fact that gun free zones make great targets for crazy people with guns.
Of course, just because these bills have been submitted, we’re not guaranteed anything on them. Lots of good legislation dies in committee. And passing bills like these is most definitely going to be an uphill battle.
Still, it’s important that legislation like these bills is introduced in state legislatures. It gives those of us who appreciate and wish to preserve our Second Amendment rights the opportunity to stand for them. We can help get the word out (like I’m doing with this post) and contact our State Representatives to ask that they support these bills (which I’ve already done).
Hopefully we’ll be able to rally enough support to get these bills passed. Whether or not that happens, a big step in the process is getting legislation submitted. I’m sure there’ll be calls to action from pro-Second Amendment groups on these bills to get them out of committees. I’ll be following these bills during the coming legislative session and will post updates on them along the way.
In the meantime, you can read the bills on the legislation page on Charles Gregory’s web site. (Click the bill number to download a PDF of each bill.) After you’ve read them, contact your State Representative to request a cosponsorship of these bills.
Comments