GA Please urge Gov Perdue to pass HB89

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pyromaster

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HB89 will allow people without a GFL to conceal a firearm anywhere in their car (currently limited to open manner and fully exposed to view, glove box, console, or similar compartment). It also deals with probate court delays in issuing a GFL. If you have a GA Firearms License it will allow State Park carry, anti-Bloomberg stings, and most importantly public transportation and restaurants that serve alcohol are no longer places off limits. This bill has passed both the House and the Senate and is waiting on Gov. Perdue to either sign it or allow it to pass (basically it will pass unless he vetoes it).

Please write and call Gov. Perdue because the media onslaught continues against HB 89. Every day that the Governor hesitates, the enemies of the right to bear arms are emboldened to believe that they might be victorious in defeating this legislation, which, as you know, restores only a portion of your right to bear arms.
Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran two pieces, including one by Rep. Time Bearden (the sponsor), but today, they ran two full size anti-liberty pieces. Marta and the GA Restaurants Assoc. also are pushing him to veto this bill (Never mind that many members of this Assoc. are places that don't sell alcohol so GFL members can already carry there). The more pro HB89 feedback Gov. Perdue hears the better. Please take a moment and call or write him to support this bill.

Methods To Use

Web Form E-Mail: http://gov.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,78006749_94820188,00.html

Snail Mail (USPS):
The Office of the Governor
State of Georgia
203 State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Phone:
404-656-1776

Fax:
404-657-7332
 
I've emailed the Gov and will call next week. I've passed this info along to my local gun range to have him contact all of his customers (he teaches an NRA gun safety course).

Please contact your local ranges too.
 
I called last week. They didn't take my name, I think I may call again. :D

On another issue, the Athens Banner Herald printed an editorial about HB89 stating:
Without a doubt, Gov. Sonny Perdue should veto House Bill 89, a measure that will allow the carrying of concealed weapons into restaurants that serve alcohol, onto public transportation, and in state parks, wildlife management areas and historic sites.

Proponents of the bill argue, in part, that it brings Georgia into the national mainstream in terms of gun laws. In an opinion piece in Tuesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, state Rep. Timothy Bearden, R-Villa Rica, sponsor of HB 89, notes that it would make Georgia "the 38th state in the nation to decriminalize carrying firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol" and "the 44th state in the nation to allow carrying weapons on public transportation."

The temptation - and, although it's a bit childish, it's nonetheless valid - is to argue that just because those things are legal in other states, it doesn't necessarily follow that making them legal in Georgia is the best course of action.

But there's another, more concrete, reason why House Bill 89 should be vetoed by the governor - the relative laxity of the state's firearms license permitting process.

Currently, as even Bearden noted in his Tuesday op-ed in the Atlanta newspaper, all that is required to get a firearms license - which permits the concealed carrying of a weapon - other than being at least 21 years old is to fill out an application with the local probate judge, submit to a criminal background check, authorize the probate judge (at the judge's discretion) to check into the applicant's mental health history, and pay a maximum of $23 ($15 to the probate judge, $5 to the law enforcement agency performing the criminal background check, and $3 if the applicant's mental health history is checked). A firearms permit is valid for five years, at which time the holder must renew it.

Obviously, there are constituencies, and campaign donations, and lobbyists' treats to be had in connection with pro-gun (or, conceding the point to firearms advocates, pro-safety) stances such as HB 89, which helps explain why they get attention from legislators. Thus, even if Perdue does veto House Bill 89, there's no guarantee that there won't be a continued push to expand firearm-carry laws.

But, even absent such a push, there are any number of things that state lawmakers could and should do in coming legislative sessions to balance the rights of those who want to carry weapons in public with the safety of the general public.

First, and most obvious, would be to include some kind of training and proficiency requirement in the state's gun permit laws. The public should know that gun permit holders are, at a minimum, reasonably able to recognize circumstances in which a weapon should - and should not - be used, and also reasonably able to hit a target.

Beyond that, legislators also ought to consider shortening the period for which a license is valid to a single year, if for no other reason than to establish more frequent contact between permit holders and the government that issued the permits. A permit renewal also should be seen as an opportunity for the government to require a demonstration of continued competence with a firearm.

In addition, legislators also should take a look at substantially boosting the fees associated with firearms permit issuance.

In addition to the probability that such a move would limit permits to only the most motivated - and, presumably, the most serious and responsible - applicants, the fees thus collected could be used by the state to establish extensive firearms training programs.

Those who hold and seek firearms permits are, in effect, asking that they be allowed to discharge dangerous weapons in public. Given the potentially serious connotations of that request, they should be willing to accept a somewhat more onerous permitting process than is the case today.


Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 041608
Click to expand...

I was surprised and pleased to see that they actually published my rebuttal, although I'm not too happy with the headline.
FIREARMS PERMIT HOLDERS NOT 'INBRED REDNECKS'
Regarding the Banner-Herald's Wednesday editorial, "Veto or not, gun laws need to be stronger," which suggests Georgia should toughen its requirements for firearms permits to include some demonstration of proficiency with a weapon, and increased cost for a permit, my first question would be "Why?"

Why do gun laws need to be stronger? Has there been a plethora of crimes committed by these people? Do we, as responsible citizens, need to pay extra for some sort of elitist privilege? We're not, as the editorial contends, looking for permission to discharge firearms in public places. We carry legal firearms to protect ourselves from those who do not pay attention to the laws already in place.

I have had a permit to carry a concealed weapon for eight years. I've somehow managed to keep out of trouble, not shoot up a restaurant, or endanger other citizens with my pistol. Get over the stereotype that everyone who owns a gun is a beer-swilling, inbred redneck who shoots up stop signs at every intersection. Do some objective research, and look at the number of times a private citizen uses a firearm to prevent a crime or protect their lives, as opposed to shooting up a restaurant or public park.
Click to expand...

Wheeler
 
Nice job on the rebuttal. Even with all the efforts being made by the NRA, GOA, RKBA, and thousands of citizens, I will be surprised if Gov. Perdue actually signs the bill. In the few articles I've seen in the AJC on HB89, it is seldom mentioned that one of the driving forces behind this bill was to "allow" citizens the legal right to protect themselves in state parks, all of this following the murder of the hiker Meredith Emerson. It's "open season" on GA citizens if this bill fails, we'll see if the Govenor actually has a spine
 
Apparantly, the big hold up is a restaurant owner that has contacted Sonny. Probably someone that knows him personally. Anyway, I saw Sonny on the news a couple of weeks ago, at the time his big hang up was the "personal rights" of the business owners. This was in regards to having a weapon in your vehicle.

This might be circular logic however, according to Ga. law, your vehicle is an extension of your home. I have the right of privacy and the right to keep firearms in my home. A business owner does NOT have the right to go into my home and see if I have a gun. It should already be a non-issue in my opinion.

Wheeler
 
wheeler, I read the first post...my question is what is the BEST METHOD....I saw the options presented...please...read my post to see what question was posed
 
Don, if you go to georgiacarry.org they have contact information there. The best way is to send a hand written (typed) letter, call, and email. The main thing to remember is be POLITE, concise and don't bog the man down with stats.
 
Don, sorry if you misunderstood but what we're trying to say is the best way is all of them. If you only want to use one, it's your choice.
 
Don,
Our political "insiders" have advissed us that the BEST method to get attention when contacting a politician is a letter in a hand addressed and stamped envelope. It tends to show that your willing to take the extra time and effort and thusly feel very strongly about the issue. The other methods are good followups but if you have to choose one go with the letter.
 
thanks USMC....that's what I was looking for...appreciate that....I don't have time to do all options..I was wanting the method that makes the biggest impression...letter makes sense.
 
Using a Next-Day Letter Envelope might me another way to get attention...just an idea and guaranteed to get there before it's too late...they aren't all that expensive.
 
Why has the Governor not signed this bill?
Is there a time limit when it would automatically become law?
I'm in the dark.(Which is not unusual.)
 
He is getting a lot heat from MARTA (Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) to NOT sign this bill.

On the other hand he is getting a lot of heat from gun owners to sign it.

Perdue obviously does not want to get reelected. Sucks for him
 
Gov Perdue is term limited, he's in his 2nd and final term.

That's why he may just veto this bill, especially if he has his eye on a non-elected, or national political position. If he's not going to stay in politics, he has absolutely nothing to loose by not signing HB89. He has until mid-May, not sure of the exact date, to sign it.

I've emailed, sent a letter, and called 2X (from different phone numbers).

But I doubt very much he'll sign HB89, which make me:cuss:
 
Emailed and sent snail mail. Hopefully he won't veto HB 89 and it will become law July 1st. Also have posted on other sites asking all Georgians to write.
 
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