Changes to GAs gun bill possible in '09

Changes to the state's gun laws could be in the works as the State Senate Firearms Committee looks at re-writing House Bill 89, passed earlier this year. One proposal under consideration … speeding up the application permit process. In a working copy of a revised gun bill, the Senate is considering cutting in half the number of days probate judges must get permits to would-be gun owners after fingerprints have been cleared by the FBI and the GBI. Current law says ten days. The proposal now being considered is five days. If a licensed is not issued within five days, the gun owner can sue.

William Self is Bibb County's probate judge. He also chairs the Georgia Probate Judges Council. He opposes the switch.

"I am quite frankly gentlemen, at a complete loss to understand why probate judges became the apparent enemies of gun rights' advocates."

Testifying before the Senate Firearms Safety Committee on Tuesday, Self asked lawmakers to remove the threat of lawsuits from gun enthusiast now hanging over the heads of the state 159 probate judges.

"This is the only statue I know of in the entire state of Georgia which purports to award attorneys fees to a plaintiff without any defense whatsoever if 10 days have expired from receipt of the reports."

Among other changes the committee will consider is including some misdemeanor offenses currently now trigger a reject on a gun permit application.

"There are literally hundreds of misdemeanors under GA law, which even with multiple convictions, do not by themselves disqualify an applicant, such as assault and battery, third degree cruelty to children…"

Here's how state Senator Don Balfour of Snellville responded to the testimony.

"Some of those things seem like whoa, we missed that one? Wow. Some of those we ought to think about putting under there."

The Senate committee now wants a list of misdemeanors to consider as part of the law. Meanwhile another idea is to leave judges completely out of the gun license procedure and hand it over to the Secretary of State. One drawback say Probate Judges is that the Secretary of State's office is not a law enforcement agency. Finally, a representative from the Georgia Council of Probate Court Judges asked the committee to consider raising gun permit application fees above the current $15, to cover actual administrative and processing costs. The Senate committee is expected to make recommendation to changes in Georgia gun laws by January.

Local groups take aim at Supreme Court gun ruling

Phenix City, Ala., resident Michael Knighton fires his Ruger pistol at an indoor firing range at Shooters Columbus gun shop in Columbus, Ga. The gun emits a flash of light as the bullet leaves the barrel. June 18th, 2008. (Dave Bender)

The United States Supreme Court this week ruled that Americans have the right to bear firearms for self-defense. In Georgia, groups for and against a recent ruling allowing guns in more places are stocking up on legal ammo.

Alice Johnson of Georgians For Gun Safety says she foresees challenges across America in the wake of the five-to-four ruling:

"The decision is going to lead to lots and lots and lots of litigation around the country related to local and state statutes that are in place now, and we're a little worried, I think, about what the outcome of some of that litigation will be."

And she says some of that litigation will likely be over House Bill 89, which goes into effect this coming Tuesday.

The Georgia law passed in the last legislature. It allows gun owners with a concealed carry permit to bring their weapons on public transit, to restaurants -- owner permitting -- and state parks:

"Perhaps the Supreme Court may be implying that House Bill 89 has some constitutional issues... you know, they said, 'sensitive places where firearms don't belong,' and they left that open, and that may, in fact mean that that guns on public; guns in restaurants that serve alcohol -- may be subject to some judicial scrutiny."

One supporter of the federal decision agrees with Johnson that lawsuits may soon be ricocheting through the courts -- but in the opposite direction.

Rifles on display at Shooters Columbus gun shop in Columbus, Ga., as a customer and salesman discuss the merits of various pistols in the background. June 18th, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Jon McMullen owns the Shooters gun shop in Columbus:

"If anything, it will expand or obviate the need for HB89, because as this Supreme Court ruling grows roots and we start to determine how it affects a variety of laws across the nation, there'll have to be a lot of laws that will have to be repealed, quite frankly, as being unconstitutional."

The State Senate will also be soon considering the ramifications of the rulings:

A panel meets later this summer to take a comprehensive look at Georgia's complex firearms laws and, and may suggest legislation for the 2009 session.

A spent bullet shell spirals upwards from the pistol of Columbus resident, Benjie Balen, at Shooter's indoor practice range, Columbus, Ga., June 18th, 2008. (Dave Bender)

In the meantime, law-enforcement officials are scrambling to train officers in the fine points of HB89, before it takes effect.

Columbus Police Chief Rickey Boren, commenting on the Georgia ruling at a recent gun-control debate, seemed to almost have seen the federal decision coming:

"In any law, there's a lot of gray area. And this law has not been tried in the courts, there has not been an arrest, it has not been appealed and there's not been an oversight of judges that have reviewed it and said whether it is a legal process or not."

But that could all change very soon, as state representatives, politicians and pressure groups across the country take sharp legal aim.

Ga. tops U.S. as source for recovered crime guns

Guns bought in Georgia were recovered from more crime scenes nationwide in 2007 than those bought in other states. The review of federal data by The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence shows 2,600 guns were traced to Georgia gun stores.

That figure ranks Georgia first, ahead of Florida and Texas, as a source for guns recovered in other states. Most weapons seized in Georgia crimes were also purchased here.

Alice Johnson, with Georgians for Gun Safety, says the numbers reflect Georgia’s gun-friendly reputation: “It’s a function of weak gun laws, easy access to firearms, significant numbers of gun shows, and swap meets, and flea markets, where these guns are sold without a background check.”

Some gun-rights advocates have criticized the report as misleading and insist, if anything, Georgia gun laws are too restrictive. In July, a new law will allow gun owners with permits to carry weapons on mass transit, into restaurants and in public parks.

(updated)