SAF Applauds Georgia Legislature For Passing Campus CCW Bill

BELLEVUE, Wash., March 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Friday's final passage of a bill in Georgia that will allow anyone 21 or older with a carry license to carry their sidearms on campus is being applauded by the Second Amendment Foundation as one more step forward for the right to keep and bear arms.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb noted, "Just because someone steps onto the campus of a college or university does not mean they leave their constitutional rights at the property line."

Under provisions of the bill, HB 859, the firearm must remain concealed, and guns are still not allowed inside fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories or at athletic events, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The bill goes to Gov. Nathan Deal for signing.

"It has never made any sense that someone can be trusted to carry a concealed sidearm only in certain places while they are prohibited in other places," Gottlieb observed. "Someone who goes through the process of obtaining a concealed carry license, including a background check, is not going to be any less responsible on a campus than he or she would be at, say, a shopping mall or grocery store.

"The Second Amendment doesn't just apply in some places and not others," he continued. "Especially after SAF's victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14^th Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms is affirmed to apply all over the country, and we see no difference between a university campus and a city park in terms of personal protection. History has taught us that criminal attack can come anyplace, and at any time, without warning.

"What kind of message does it send to people that their most basic right of self-defense doesn't really count if they set foot on a college campus," Gottlieb challenged. "Are we trying to tell college students or campus visitors that there are only nine amendments to the Bill of Rights? Good for Georgia legislators who just answered that question."

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.  Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. 

SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation

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