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Seabaugh introduces new gun billWed, 01/13/2010 - 9:37pm
By: Ben Nelms
State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) is introducing a bill in the 2010 General Assembly that he says will clarify and simplify current weapons law and uphold the right to bear arms. The Georgia Common Sense Lawful Carry Act is meant to amend current Georgia law. “As weapons legislation in Georgia is currently written, there is widespread confusion as to where, when, and who has the legal right to publicaly carry a weapon. Law enforcement officials, lawfully carrying citizens and concerned citizens aren’t clear on where the law applies all due to the vagueness of the term ‘public gathering.’ This confusion necessitates correction; therefore, I removed the public gathering provision and replaced it with language that makes sense and is easy to understand,” Seabaugh said. The bill does not propose to alter the current firearm prohibitions in places such as schools and government offices and it maintains the requirement that persons under age 21 cannot be issued a permit to purchase or carry a weapon. The bill does, however, give property owners the right to determine if lawfully carried weapons are permitted on their land, Seabaugh said. “No government should infringe on private property owners’ decision to allow lawfully carried weapons. This is not necessarily an expansion of carry areas. It is feasible that some property owners will not permit lawfully carried weapons,” he said. “The provision also provides lawfully carrying citizens specific guarantees on securing their weapons in a parked vehicle when visiting places where weapons are not permitted.” Seabaugh said the bill is also intended to centralize all licensing under the Secretary of State’s office so that citizens statewide can experience a measure of continuity in the licensing process that is not yet available. “There is currently no continuity in the weapons licensing process. Georgia’s 159 counties have 159 different ways of issuing licenses. There is no way an application or enforcements don’t fall through the cracks. I’ve corrected this by centralizing all licensing under the guidance of the Secretary of State’s office,” Seabaugh said. “By bringing the system under the Secretary of State’s office, each county will have the same standards and each lawful citizen can expect the same process. The bill maintains all background checks currently in place while imposing new disqualifiers on who can obtain a license. The law must be fair to law-abiding, weapon-carrying citizens and ensure that any infractions and prohibitions are monitored and reported correctly, effectively and efficiently.” login to post comments
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