2 Crime Victims Kill Suspected Assailants

Police say two crime victims in metro Atlanta killed their attackers in separate incidents on Saturday.

Cobb County police say a Marietta resident, who was shot in his own garage Saturday night, grabbed the wound-be robber's gun and shot and killed the man.

Officials identified the would-be robber as 33-year-old John Harrison of Palmetto. Harrison shot and wounded 38-year-old homeowner, Richard Ellis, in the leg.

In Atlanta, police say a woman fatally stabbed a robbery suspect who broke into her apartment while her 11-year-old child slept.

The suspect was identified as 34-year-old Jerome Davis of Atlanta. The woman's name was not released.

No charges were filed in either case.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says over 120 thousand gun applications were submitted in 2008, an almost 80-percent jump from the roughly 68 thousand the year before.

Click here for more GPB News crime coverage.

(AP)

Cagle: 'No Appetitie' For New Gun Bill

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

Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle says he doesn't like the idea of loosening the state's concealed weapons laws to allow guns in more public places.

Cagle told reporters today he has "no appetite" for a plan to expand where people with concealed weapons permits may bring a gun, including churches and college campuses. A state senate committee is looking at the issue. Last session, lawmakers approved a bill that permits concealed weapons in state parks, restaurants that serve alcohol and on public transportation.

Cagle, who presides over the state Senate, said state lawmakers "dealt with this issue last year and I think people should be content with where we are."

Last session, lawmakers approved a House Bill 89 that permits concealed weapons in state parks, restaurants that serve alcohol and on public transportation.

(AP)

Click here for more GPB News coverage about HB 89.

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.

Lawsuit filed over state's new gun law

A lawsuit has been filed over Georgia’s new gun law, which went into effect Tuesday. Gun rights supporters are challenging the designation that Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is a "gun-free zone". City and airport officials yesterday reiterated the airport is not for visitors to bring their firearms. Airport officials say anyone carrying a gun into the airport could be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. The new measure now law allows Georgians with carry permits to bring guns onto public transportation, restaurants with alcohol, and into state parks.

U.S Army Corps sites in GA: 'no guns here'

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers clarified the state's new gun law to remind Georgians that concealed weapons are not allowed in the sites the Corps oversees. A brief statement issued Thursday clarifies that only law enforcement officers can carry loaded guns into the more than 100 campgrounds and recreation areas operated by the Corps in Georgia. Those parks include Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Marietta, some parks along the Chattahoochee River,and the parks and boat ramps owned by the Corps around some north Georgia lakes, including Lanier.

This week Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law the measure that allows those with concealed weapons permits to carry firearms into state parks, some restaurants and on public transportation. The law becomes effective July 1st.