Wednesday, April 04, 2007

What Will Become of the Gun Bills?

Is SB43 really dead? This is Chip Roger's brilliant bill that would prohibit certain employers from prohibiting employees from lawfully carrying guns in locked motor vehicles. This is the bill that polarized the NRA and the Georgia Chamber-two groups that the Georgia GOP has recently been able to reliably count as part of their base.

I hear that some are threatening to add it as an amendment to HB89, Tim Beardon's equally brilliant piece of legislation that passed the House, and, if becomes law, will make every traffic stop even more dicey for law enforcement. This bill makes it legal to stow a gun under your seat or otherwise conceal it in your car. How ironic that the NRA is twisting arms of Republicans and Democrats alike in the Senate to hide SB43 in this bill.

It will be interesting to watch as the GOP tries to balance the interests of the business community and the NRA.

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2 comments:

Alice Johnson said...

Thanks for raising this issue -- there's a connection between gun possession by abusers and dangers to victims of intimate partner abuse. One shooting at the workplace derailed SB 43 on "cross-over day", and maybe the shooting at CNN Center will finally put the language to rest for this session. But HB 89 is still a problem, because it endangers law enforcement even more, and will increase the number of children and youth accidentally getting a gun that is hidden in a car that an adult forgot about. Access to firearms is definitely a woman's issue.

Tina said...

I guess it could be called some kind of accomplishment that this legislature didn't pass some of the bad legislation that came before them. On the other hand what they have passed so far hasn't included a whole lot that is of significant public benefit.