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GA Senate action
The GA senate passed well, something. News report is only clear that it would let CCW holders carry in State parks. The original would have let employees store in locked cars on their employers' parking lots, but committee action (due to Chamber of Commerce objections) would have limited that, too, to CCW permittees. The news article says that it's limited to CCW holders who have permission from the employer. But that'd make little sense -- if you have the parking lot owner's permission, anyone can store a gun there. So I have no idea what the Senate bill would do in that regard.
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More of a reason to get a CCW permit.
george
It seems to be, sadly, another watered down-claimed-by-NRA-as success-bill.
The problem is; the NRA seems to have too many agendas and the 2nd amendment loses in the process.
They need to be seen as not democrat or republican- not left or right- not pro or anti the chamber of commerce. That is not the way they are perceived. That loses positive energy for the 2nd amendment and plays into the hands of those against our Constitution.
Last night on Cam and Company the Georgia bill was presented as a success. Nothing of its failures was effectively noted. Seemingly incremental progress will not be enought in the future. The near future. Globalism calls and the price to participate will be our Rights- gun rights-- in particular.
The HRA has done much good; but the level of attack on the 2nd amendment at this point in history demands a more focused unburdened
approach that the NRA either will not or cannot muster.
They need talented public relations not the same old song that the other side has learned to counter or ignore.
Their hearts may be in the right place but they are on the verge of moving toward ineffectuality.
Here's hoping they will wake up and turn their battleship in the right direction. Time is not on their side.
If you ban storage in cars on employers parking lots, you effectively ban carry in cars on the road between home and work, which exceeds the property rights of the business...Need to build on the idea used in many castle doctrine laws that the car is an extension of the home, and you have a right to protect yourself in you car or in public, not just in your house. The property rights of the business owner should not be allowed to trump the right of living persons to defend themselves from attack.
It's better, and worse, than that. A lot of the good language from the non-NRA bill was added to the NRA bill, but the parking lot carry was watered-down considerably. The good news is that the other bill could still pass.
Unfortunately, the BEST provision from the other bill wasn't added - the one removing the vaguely-defined "public gatherings" clause from Georgia's carry laws. The courts have ruled that not only does the "public gatherings" clause (which states that it includes, but is not limited to, "athletic or sporting events, churches or church functions, political rallies or functions, publicly owned or operated buildings, or establishments at which alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises."), but also applies to the parking area outside. And they've counted within 175 yards as included, but have not stated an upper limit for how far from such a "public gathering" one may park and not be considered in violation of the law. Worrying about being fired for having a gun in my car while parked at work is NOTHING compared to worrying about going to jail because I had a gun in my car while I stopped at a restaurant for dinner, or not being able to carry in that restaurant because they serve alcohol, and suffering what Dr. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp went through.
It's been really watered down, and there had been two separate bills. One local Georgia one, the other an NRA-supported bill. The Georgia one didn't seem to get anywhere, so we got the NRA bill. According to what I read, it allows CCW permit holders to carry in state parks and parking lots with public access. The parking lots deal is already allowed, except at certain businesses which have policies against it. The bill really doesn't do a whole lot, which is a shame. We could have had a much better bill that allowed people to carry in more locations, such as bars and churches, but morons--and I really do mean morons--protested crazily against it, and the local paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution really kicked into high-gear with the outright lies, by saying the bill would let you get drunk and carry at the same time--it didn't. But hey, the AJC has never exactly been a fount of truth. They enjoy their ridiculous, absurd lies and cry to get their way to spread the anti-freedom message as much as possible.