The following email was received on June 6.

FYI.  Here is a copy of my letter to the Governor urging that he sign Senate Bill 291.  The final version of Senate Bill 291 has the original airport carry language from Senate Bill 308.

David

David J. Shafer
State Senator, District 48

The letter may be read here.

GCO sent letters of support for each of the gun bills on Governor Sonny Perdue’s desk awaiting his actions. The letter in support of SB308 can be found here. The letter in support of SB291 can be found here.

GCO and GCO member Regis Goyke have filed a brief in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in their federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Georgia’s ban on issuing GFLs to non-residents. The case was dismissed by Senior U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper on the grounds that GCO and Goyke did not have standing to bring the case. The appellate brief, as well as the briefs in the district court, may be viewed here.

Below is the Senate Floor Debate on SB308 Conference Committee Report for those who have not seen it.  It is 26 minutes and 32 seconds long.  It starts as Senator Mitch Seabaugh of the 28th District rises to request the passage of SB308 and continues until the votes are counted and Lt. Governor, Casey Cagle announces the bill is passed.

Senate Bill 308 Debate from GeorgiaCarry on Vimeo.

GCO Member and Rockdale resident Arthur J. Kidney began work behind the scenes last October to get the Rockdale County Commissioners to change the ordinance to become compliant with state law.  Code section 16-11-173 states that no political body other than the General Assembly can control and regulate firearms.

The county attorney issued an opinion in December stating that his legal opinion was the county was in violation.  Shortly after that, it was decided that the ordinances needed to be rewritten which turned into a delaying tactic.  As Arthur pressed on, the delays continued.  One of the commissioners wanted to wait to see if SB308 passed and if it would have any effect on the parks, another delaying tactic.  It was at this point that one Commissioner Richard Oden stated he was “not in favor of allowing weapons” because of “terrorists.”  That quote resulted in an Atlanta Gun Rights Examiner article on April 13, entitled Rockdale County bans guns over terrorism fears that seemed to get the ball rolling a little faster.

At this point, Arthur teamed up with GCO Member Sam Smiley and with the help of one commissioner, the county sheriff, and others, the ordinance was pushed forward and voted on a first reading on April 27 and finally approved on May 11.

This is another case of one of our outstanding members taking it upon himself to ensure that his rights as well as our rights are protected and not violated by a government entity.  Thanks to Arthur, Sam and all those involved for seeing this through.

GCO member Jesus Gonzalez’ federal lawsuit in Wisconsin was dismissed after the judge granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. In his lawsuit, Gonzalez challenged his arrest in two separate incidents for disorderly conduct when openly carrying in retail stores. The court found no specific disorderly conduct on Gonzalez’ part, but went on to observe:

“No reasonable person would dispute that walking into a retail store openly carrying a firearm is highly disruptive conduct which is virtually certain to create a disturbance. This is so because when employees and shoppers in retail stores see a person carrying a lethal weapon, they are likely to be frightened and possibly even panicky. many employees and shoppers are likely to think that the person with the gun is either deranged or about to commit a felony or both. Further, it is almost certain that someone will call the police. And when police respond to a “man with a gun” call, they have no idea what the armed individual’s intentions are. The volatility in such a situation could easily lead to someone being seriously injured or killed.”

Interestingly, a federal court in Georgia ruled that openly carrying a firearm is not disorderly conduct, even if the carrier “manipulates” the gun while repeatedly entering and existing a convenience store.  In Wisconsin, the carrier was just shopping.

It also is worthy of note that Wisconsin has no licensing law at all, has a ban on concealed carry, and has a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to keep and bear arms that the state supreme court has interpreted to mean must allow carry in some fashion.

A copy of the order can be found here.

Are you within an hour’s drive of Atlanta?  If so, then please stop by the Capitol.  When you enter the Capitol Building on the west side main entrance, the Governor’s office is directly on your left.  Stop in for a visit and ask the Governor to sign both bills.  Assuming you do not get to see him in person, leave a message.  Something like the following will work:

Hello, I am “so and so,” and I voted for Governor Perdue.  I wanted to let him know that I would very much like him to sign SB 308 into law.  I would also like him to sign SB 291.  These bills are extremely important to me.  Thank you.

It really is that easy.

Then make sure you follow up by mailing a handwritten letter, email, and telephone.  Then ask all of your friends and family to do the same.

The Honorable Sonny Perdue
State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Phone: 404-656-1776
Fax: 404-657-7332

Email the governor – click here

*From the Atlanta Gun Rights Examiner – Ed Stone – Click here for article.

Want to see how your elected officials voted on the recent gun bills?  Please check by clicking on the links below.  Remember, we “threatened” we would track their votes and here is the information.

Check how the House voted on SB291 here!

Check how the Senate voted on SB291 here!

Check how the House voted on SB308 Conference Committee Report here!

Check how the Senate voted on SB308Conference Committee Report here!

Last night, GeorgiaCarry.Org placed a letter on the desk of each Senator and Representative requesting they support SB 308 as written by the bill’s author, Senator Mitch Seabaugh.  We merely stated that, “GeorgiaCarry.Org will be tracking votes on SB 308″.  Senator Steve Thompson referred to our letter as a “threat” from the well of the Senate Floor during his time to oppose SB 308.  He told other members of the Senate that they had “cover” to vote against the bill, because, “The NRA opposes this bill”.

The letter can be seen here.

SB 308 passed the General Assembly by overwhelming margins, finally repealing Georgia’s 140 year old public gathering law. The bill now goes to the Governor. Please contact the Governor and ask him to sign SB 308.