Malum Prohibitum
Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2006
- Messages
- 572
Georgia Law Is Murky
Sadly, Georgia law is so murky on this issue I almost do not expect a police officer to know what is and is not a public gathering. While I do expect a police officer to know that WalMart is not, based on the State v. Burns case that held McDonalds is not a public gathering even if the public is gathered there, I would not expect a police officer to know about a great many other places. As a result, we can only expect that a certain number of police officers are going to have mistaken ideas.
Check out this link as an example of what happened just this weekend.
http://www.georgiapacking.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=678
When finished there, I invite those interested in Georgia's law to peruse the "Places Off Limits" forum on the same page (it is the same forum where that thread is posted). Many of you may not know that Georgia is the most restrictive state in the nation when it comes to where you can and cannot carry a gun. Even California and Massachussetts allow carry into more places than does Georgia. As a result, one can only expect that police officers in Georgia are going to be biased toward declaring places off limits, since that bias is built into the law.
When perusing the Places Off Limits forum and discovering all the restrictions in Georgia, keep in mind that I know for a fact that several of the posters are attorneys, several are police officers, and yet you will see a lot of disagreement about what is off limits, especially when it comes to public gatherings. You can imagine the choice one who carries is confronted with daily when even lawyers and police officers cannot agree on whether a place is or is not off limits.
Georgia places a lot of the parking lots off limits, too, and criminalizes the carry of a firearm even while going "to" such a place, in addition to "while at."
Have fun perusing the various threads, and feel free to post your opinions over there.
Sadly, Georgia law is so murky on this issue I almost do not expect a police officer to know what is and is not a public gathering. While I do expect a police officer to know that WalMart is not, based on the State v. Burns case that held McDonalds is not a public gathering even if the public is gathered there, I would not expect a police officer to know about a great many other places. As a result, we can only expect that a certain number of police officers are going to have mistaken ideas.
Check out this link as an example of what happened just this weekend.
http://www.georgiapacking.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=678
When finished there, I invite those interested in Georgia's law to peruse the "Places Off Limits" forum on the same page (it is the same forum where that thread is posted). Many of you may not know that Georgia is the most restrictive state in the nation when it comes to where you can and cannot carry a gun. Even California and Massachussetts allow carry into more places than does Georgia. As a result, one can only expect that police officers in Georgia are going to be biased toward declaring places off limits, since that bias is built into the law.
When perusing the Places Off Limits forum and discovering all the restrictions in Georgia, keep in mind that I know for a fact that several of the posters are attorneys, several are police officers, and yet you will see a lot of disagreement about what is off limits, especially when it comes to public gatherings. You can imagine the choice one who carries is confronted with daily when even lawyers and police officers cannot agree on whether a place is or is not off limits.
Georgia places a lot of the parking lots off limits, too, and criminalizes the carry of a firearm even while going "to" such a place, in addition to "while at."
Have fun perusing the various threads, and feel free to post your opinions over there.