A contentious bill that would allow Georgians to take their firearms inside churches, bars and other traditionally gun-free zones may be up for vote soon in the state Senate.  

 

Speaking to Floyd County Republicans on Saturday, Representative Eddie Lumsden outlined House Bill 512, which would permit licensed carriers to keep their weapons on them in places like college campuses, unsecured government buildings, and even churches. As a member of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, and as a retired Georgia State Trooper, Lumsden had a hand in the formation of the bill, which he says guarantees the second amendment to all Georgians.

 

“It’s a basic right—a right to self protection,” Lumsden says. “The constitution grants that right through the second amendment and we need to balance the fourth amendment against the second amendment with private property rights and those types of things. And that’s what this bill seeks to do– is just to use a common sense approach permitting the second amendment to truly be established and in-place in Georgia.” 

 

 

Lumsden says he received over 2,000 emails on this one bill, which was backed by the Georgia Carry Advocacy Group. Since its overwhelming passage in the house on Thursday, the amendment has moved to the Senate floor, where its fate is unknown.