If we were to use only a figure of 150,000 Licensee’s as the average over those twenty five years, and an average of 10 hours of concealed carry per licensee, per day, and then say that each one of these persons only carries said firearm 200 days out of each year….

This means that, even with those EXTREMELY conservative numbers, properly licensed (cleared by Law Enforcement) persons in Georgia have carried concealed handguns for MORE than a total of 375 MILLION HOURS.

To date, I am unaware of any person so licensed, while carrying such a firearm in public, to have been charged and convicted of any violent felony.

However, I can assure you, and demonstrate cases where, the lawful possesion of a firearm by a law-abiding citizen has prevented numerous violent criminal assaults, and in cases, been used to end violent criminal activity.

Unfortunately, there are a plethora of cases where Police Officers and other LEO’s HAVE used their weapons with illegal violence, against spouses, against a 90 year old woman sitting peacefully in her own home, to commit armed robberies, etc.

As to “the police” being more trained with firearms than citizens, in some cases that is true, in others it most certainly is not.

Police Departments are hampered by limited budgets for ammunition, as well as by understaffing, which dis-enables getting Officers off the street, and onto the range, sufficiently, to become and remain profficient with their firearms.

The ones that do become and remain well trained in such use are either members of a relatively small SWAT type team, or do so on their own time, with their own funds. Since the average Police Officer must work at least one other job to supplement rather meager pay, this “self education” is rather rare, indeed.

I have shot against current Police Officers, from many Georgia Jurisdictions in open Pistol Matches, and if they represent the best, or even the average, then my well experienced conclusion is that the average LEO shoots about as well as the average gun enthusiast, who likely will also be a Georgia Firearms Licensee.

Sorry, but the fears that you have, and have espoused above, like most unreasonable fears of man, are not substantiated by any evidence discernible.

Neither is the touted vague supposition that another human being, simply by virtue of a specialised type of employment, is magically more trained in how, and when, to legally employ a firearm in defense of themselves or others.

Nor can any relevant or salient prediction(s) be made, based on such fears, as to what impact the newly returned rights of Georgians to protect themselves will mean.

Yes, as you said (but not so directly) someone, somewhere, sometime, might do something that they shouldn’t.

That is an obvious truth.

But it simply has nothing to do with this issue, and is therefore meaningless fluff, meant to frighten the, as yet, uneducated public, or as blatant, and knowingly untrue, rhetoric.

When violence comes, it arrives in seconds, and is over in seconds. Even if one could call the police just before a violent attack happens, Law Enforcement will not arrive before it is over and done with(in fact, in that amount of time you may well still be on hold with a 911 dispatcher, who is not as well trained as needed, and likely confused).

I have a right to protect myself, and all the uninformed laws that purport to make me safer by denying (illegally infringing upon) me the right to self defense in a manner equal to, and with a weapon comparable to one that society agrees is necessary for a law enforcer to have, with which to defend themselves, are useless.

The criminal, or mentally defective take ZERO note of such laws, will carry a firearm anywhere they like, and use it to criminal or insane purpose, as they please.

For the umpteenth millionth time, making guns a crime ONLY disarms the law-abiding.

And not one damn person more.