The Georgia campus carry bill HB859 passed the Peach State House 113 to 59, and the Senate 37 to 17. It now sits on Governor Nathan Deal’s desk, waiting for his signature. Earlier this week, Governor Deal refused to say he’d veto the campus carry bill. Nor did he say he’d affix his signature to the campus carry legislation. Instead, his office released the following statement [via gov.georgia.gov] . . .
As a lifetime defender and staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights, Gov. Deal has signed every pro-gun bill to reach his desk. However, he believes legitimate points have been made in regards to certain aspects of the ‘campus carry’ bill and he calls on the General Assembly to address these concerns in related legislation before Sine Die [ED: the end of the current legislative session.]
Specifically, these areas of concern include dually enrolled k-12 students who leave school to attend classes at a university or technical college campus, as well as daycare centers on these same campuses.
Deal also believes the governing boards of universities and technical colleges should have the discretion to set reasonable rules regarding disciplinary hearings and faculty and administrative offices.
Addressing these issues is an important step in ensuring the safety and freedoms of students, faculty and staff in our institutions of higher learning throughout our state.
The wording is similar to arguments brought before the Alaskan Senate when the legislature considered campus carry. With these changes, a school administration in The Peach State could prevent a staff member from exercising her Second Amendment rights in her own office. They could also insist that police officers be disarmed before coming into their offices.
HB859 was delivered to Governor Deal on the March 14. He has six days to either sign or veto the bill before the legislature adjourns. If he does not sign or veto HB859, it will become law on Sunday and will go into effect on July 1, 2016. If the governor vetoes the bill, which seems unlikely, the legislature will have four days to attempt to override. They don’t appear to have the votes to do so. Stay tuned.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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