Tag Archive for 'second-amendment'

Georgians for Gun Safety: The Other Side of the Mountain!

Published on June 1, 2008 in Podcast. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, is one of those “issues” where people on both sides believe they are right, as well as misunderstood. In case you have forgotten, it provides: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

In my recent interview with John Monroe of Georgia Carry.org, he explains the confusing and restrictive nature of Georgia’s gun laws. In this interview, Alice Johnson, Founder of Georgians for Gun Safety, makes it clear, her organization is not against the Second Amendment, but does have legitimate concerns about the new Georgia law, HB 89, that allows people to carry concealed weapons into restaurants, public parks and onto public transportation.

I may be wrong, but as I understand the threshhold issue, defenders of the Second Amendment believe that if the right to own a gun is a constitutional right, then just about any infringement or regulation of that right is unconstitutional. There is some degree of logic to that argument, but it certainly flies in the face of common sense. Common sense tells me that guns are dangerous. Experience tells me that there are a lot of crazy, nutty people out there. Logic tells me that I don’t want some people to have a gun, constitutional right or not. I don’t feel the same way about any of the other rights bestowed by the “Bill of Rights.” I want people to have the absolute most freedom of the press and freedom of religion that there can possibly be. Same for freedom from searches by law enforcement. Take a double portion, please.

As Alice points out, it makes little sense that the people that use a gun everyday as part of their job, law enforcement, are required to undergo a significant degree of training in the handling of a gun, BEFORE they use it. And yet, in Georgia, unless you are disqualified from buying a gun (felony conviction, etc.), once you own it there is no requirement that you undergo any training before you get a permit to carry it as a concealed weapon. The reason this makes no sense to me is this: Assuming that the only reason for carrying a concealed weapon is personal safety, isn’t some degree of training essential to that safety, if not for you, then at least for me? Is your carrying a gun supposed to make me (everyone else that is around you) less safe?

Alice gives a lot of reasons why the new Georgia law (as well as others) doesn’t do anything to balance gun ownership with gun responsibility. The one that really makes you think is the fact that under the new Georgia law, law enforcement has no input into the decision as to whether or not any particular individual should or should not get a permit to carry a concealed weapon. I am sure we all know people who may have never been convicted of a felony, but who are constantly in trouble with the law for this or that, or who are just mean, short-tempered, hot-headed and maybe even nuts. The fact there are such people certainly should not prevent me from owning a gun, but that doesn’t mean they should own one, much less have a permit to carry it concealed.

If you know such people, think what law enforcement knows, who they know, who is always involved in domestic violence, who is a trouble maker, who has no business carrying a gun. And yet, the Georgia legislature (which would certainly seem to be pro-law enforcement generally) has completly castrated law enforcement in this instance. In doing so, they have endangered all our lives.

Without a doubt, giving law enforcement power over who can carry a gun has the potential for abuse. Without a doubt there is a mechanism by which that abuse can be lessened: the courts. But my point is simply that it defies reason to make the knowledge and information of local law enforcement irrelevant to the determination of who should have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Now, this does not mean that once the new law goes into effect on July 1, 2008 there is going to be a rash of shootings involving people carrying concealed weapons into public parks, restaurants, and onto public transportation. Probably won’t be. But, I think it can be said without a doubt that someone will get a permit to carry a concealed weapon who shouldn’t, someone that local law enforcement would know should not have a concealed weapon (maybe any weapon). And, I am equally certain that at some unknown time in the future such a person will misuse the gun they never should have had. There will be at least one killing, one life taken.

I don’t know whether it will be you, but I doubt it will be me. We never think it will be us. We always think it will be someone else. I guess it will be you! And when that death occurs, the spouse, the children of the innocent victim won’t be able to sue Tim Bearden, (R-68) the legislator (and member of Georgia Carry) who sponsored the bill or anyone associated with the passage of this legislation. They won’t be able to do anything about the fact that by simply giving law enforcement input into the process might have prevented their personal tragedy.

But maybe, a few unnecessary deaths will get the law changed. I just hope it ain’t mine.

Alice Johnson, Georgians for Gun Safety [ 29:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1485)

Going to Town? Got Your Keys, Your Money, and Your Gun?

Published on May 30, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Everytime I do an interview about guns and the Second Amendment, some gun-ho person always accuses me of not having a clue what I am talking about. Never said I did! That is why I do interviews.

However, that should not detract from this interview with John Monroe, Founder of Georgia Carry.org in which we discuss HB 89 passed by the 2008 Georgia General Assembly. Effective July 1, 2008, Georgia will allow someone owning a gun to get permit to carry a concealed weapon into a restaurant or on MARTA or some other form of public transportation or into Walmart. Nevertheless, as John points out, you still can’t tote your gun, concealed or not, at a “public gathering.” A few other places, as well.

If you read HB89, you will know for certain that you can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon but you will probably have a lot of questions as to exactly where you can carry it. The law is really not clear, and frankly, it even gets a little confusing in this interview. For example, the definition of a “public gathering” is:

For the purpose of this Code section, ‘public gathering’ shall include, but shall not be 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 and which derive less than 50 percent of their total annual gross food and beverage sales from the sale of prepared meals or food. Nothing in this Code section shall otherwise prohibit the carrying of a firearm in any other public place by a person licensed or permitted to carry such firearm by this part.

The law makes it very clear that you can carry a concealed weapon, with a permit, in a park, but what happens if you are in the park and come upon a church picnic? Are you now in a public gathering and violating the law? And exactly how the heck do you figure out if the bar or restaurant you want to go into with your gun concealed earns more than 50% of its income from food? You could literally leave your home carrying a concealed weapon legally and travel through alternating zones of legality and illegality just depending on what and who you pass.

John emphasizes that the uncertainty of the law is not good. I agree. Regardless of whether you like the law or not, there is really no reason to make it so confusing and uncertain that an honest law-abiding citizen can violate the letter of the law without knowing it. If you think this is no big deal, you need to understand that carrying a concealed weapon in violation of the law is a midemeanor the first time you are charged. But the second time it is a felony and carrys a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years. (BTW, this is another example of stupid mandatory sentencing required by a legislature that does not have a clue as to the evils of mandatory sentencing.)

This is one side of HB89. There is another side!

John Monroe, Georgia Carry.Org [ 29:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1616)

Pye and The Second Amendment!

Published on March 22, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Anyone that knows Jason Pye knows he is a strong believer in the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. Jason has been blogging about a case pending before the Supreme Court, District of Columbia v. Heller. Jason even recorded the oral argument and put it on his website! Just go to his home page and scroll down to “More on Heller.”

Jason hasn’t been to law school yet (He should go, I mean he really needs to go!), but he can best many lawyers when quoting cases and explaining decisions. Me? I hated constitutional law, not because it isn’t beautiful and majestic, but because trying to figure out what the law was in any particular area was akin to hearding cats. And, I don’t heard cats well–no patience!

According to Jason, the Heller case focuses the gun sights on a central question, which apparently has never been definitively answered by the Supreme Court: Is the right to bear arms an individual right? If you had asked me, I would have thought the issue was decided years ago, but apparently not.

In Heller the laws under attack are the District of Columbia’s ban on all hand guns and restrictions which require that other guns, like shotguns, be disassembled and unloaded. The argument is that the DC law effectively bans all guns, since the only guns you can have, you can’t use. It is hard to believe there is any place in America where you can’t have a gun ready and available in your home to protect yourself, your family and your property.

The odd thing is that Cheney and 200+ Senators and Congressmen signed on to a brief filed with the Supreme Court asking the Court to hold that the right to bear arms is an individual right. The problem: The Bush Administration filed a brief opposing such a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment because of concern that such a ruling might result in federal gun control legislation being declared unconstitutional. Cheney v Bush? For a better understanding you really need to read Jason’s post on JasonPye.com.

The quandry? The now conservative Supreme Court that loves to uphold the power of the government to do just about anything (like tap our phones) has to choose between its love of federal power and its love of guns, or should I say conservatives’ love of guns. I predict the guns win, the law is declared unconstitutional and the Supreme Court does some fancy dancing to preserve both guns and power. When you are the Supreme Court you can have the best of both worlds!

We covered a little Georgia politics, as well. Jason thinks Speaker Richardson’s Great Tax Plan was all about him, the Speaker that is. Cagle proposed a 10% cut in income taxes. Must be running for something! In a recession, who are these guys kidding? The voters, of course. Governor Perdue opposes both proposals since now that he won’t be running for re-election, he sees recession and decreases in revenues.

The budgets (supplemental and 2008-09) have passed both the House and Senate. Jason says there might be a showdown with the Governor over the budgets before the legislature adjourns.

The interesting part? I asked Jason to grade Cagle and Richardson’s performance this year. The results: Cagle: B- Richardson: F.

Personally, I give Jason an A for citizenship.

Jason Pye, Political Commentator & Blogger [ 30:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1273)

Have Gun, Want to Travel! Better Check With GeorgiaCarry.org!

Published on December 12, 2007 in Podcast. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

Just this week the news was full of the nut that went around the parking lot of a church in Colorado shooting people and was gunned down by a church security guard. Graveyard dead!

Not too long ago the Virginia Tech murders made us wonder whether there was any safe place left in the world. That guy wasn’t shot by someone else, but at least he saved us the trouble of a trial and killed himself.

Is there any place that is safe in today’s world? I really don’t think there is. However, the chance is slim that our paths will cross the path of some crazy on a day when death is in the air. If I honestly thought I would arrive at that crossroad where my life were threatened, I would do whatever it took to protect myself, including toting a gun.

The quandry, at least in Georgia, is why don’t I have the right to tote that gun just in case that slim chance of encountering a crazy happens today? If the paths cross at my home, I can shoot to kill in self-defense. If they cross in my car, basically the outcome is the same. I can protect myself in my car. But, in Georgia it is basically illegal to carry a gun in broad daylight on the streets and in public places. If I carry that gun to protect myself in the parking lot of my church or Walmart or whereever other people have the right to be, I am probably breaking the law in Georgia.

And, as Shakespeare would say, therein lies the rub and it is that rub which GeorgiaCarry.org wants to change. John Monroe, V.P. of Georgia Carry, makes no apology for wanting the right to carry a gun just about anywhere he wants to go, Walmart, church, the park, and elsewhere. John is an attorney from Roswell, Georgia and specializes in Second Amendment issues. I may be oversimplifying John’s point, but as I understand it, John and Georgia Carry believe that if the Second Amendment gives them the right to carry a gun (to protect themselves), the laws of Georgia should not eviscerate that right by saying you can’t carry the gun in public places where you might need to protect yourself.

Where can you carry a gun legally in Georgia? That is not an easy question to answer and don’t take this blog as a legal opinion you can rely upon. You may go to jail. However, most of us understand that we can have a gun at home and in the car. But, the dangers we face of a deadly nature exist in places other than home or car (there may be issues of concealment, but that is another interview). What about on a college campus? Not in Georgia! What about at a public gathering of people who tote guns? Probably not in Georgia. Exactly where can an ordinary citizen can carry a gun is not easy to say, but let me offer this as a rule of thumb: Don’t take a gun anywhere outside of your home or car if you can see another person. I must agree with John that this really doesn’t make much sense.

I am not opposed to gun registration or certain levels of gun control, but I firmly believe that I have a constitutional right to own a gun and protect myself, my family and my property. Having said that, it does seem strange to me that the exercise of this constitutional right is so limited in Georgia.

To my surprise, John told me that Georgia has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. According to John there are states which actually allow you to carry a gun to a public event, like a sports stadium. That sounds so strange, and I can only conclude it must simply be the result of being raised in Georgia.

The thing I am dealing with is why does John Monroe’s desire to carry a gun into public places make me uncomfortable? If my friend who is a Vietnam veteran went with me to Walmart toting a gun, I would feel perfectly safe. I know that I would feel safer than if I went without him. So why don’t I want some person I don’t know toting a gun. They might be a Vietnam veteran, as well. Or they could be nuts!

You can take either side of this issue (toting guns in public) and logically argue the outcome you personally prefer. But, as John points out: it is a constitutional right. Not much argument there, but if voting is a constitutional right that can’t be unnecessarily restricted, why isn’t bearing a gun equally sacrosanct?

Having thought about this more than usual, I am sure of one thing. The reason that I would feel uncomfortable if I saw strangers walking around the parking lot at Walmart with guns on their hips is primarily because I am unfamilar with guns in general or people that tote them.

So should we balance the right to carry a gun in public places with the fear that the person carrying the gun will kill us? I will have to think about that some more, but it does seem to me that if it actually works elsewhere in the USA, we might try it in Georgia.

While John might not agree, if someone really wants to tote a gun in public, I would not be opposed to requiring them to demonstrate proficiency in gun safety and be subject to background checks. At least then, when I saw them with a gun on their hip in the Walmart parking lot, I would have some basis to assume they are a responsible person and not a crazy!

John Monroe, GeorgiaCarry.org [ 27:57 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1148)