Georgia Lt. Governor Cagle has appointed Senator Mitch Seabaugh of Sharpsburg to chair the Senate committee proposed in Resolution 819. The committee will survey and elucidate the state’s complex and often contradictory firearms laws. SR 19 reads, in part:
WHEREAS, current Georgia laws applicable to the carrying of firearms are extensive, complex, ambiguous, scattered in various provisions of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, and frequently produce unintended results and confusion among Georgians who carry firearms, law enforcement officers, and the courts (…) in light of the above, it is now time to closely scrutinize and improve Georgia’s firearms laws
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of Georgia’s firearms laws generally and the application of these laws to Georgia’s peaceable and law-abiding citizens to ensure that constitutional rights, the right of self-defense, and public safety are properly protected and that persons involved in the firearms licensing process are treated fairly and equitably. The committee shall make recommendations for changes in legislation and shall provide copies of proposed legislation to be prepared by the Office of Legislative Counsel and shall recommend any other action or make such report which the study committee deems appropriate.
Their report is due on or before January 31, 2009. Senator Chip Rogers of Woodstock is on the committee, as are Senators Don Balfour of Snellville and David Adelman of Atlanta.
Senator Seabaugh sponsored Senate Bill 277, which proposed allowing citizens without Georgia Firearms Licenses to carry weapons anywhere within their personal vehicles. This clause was merged into House Bill 89, which was also strongly supported by Senator Rogers. Their presence on the committee is cause for real optimism in next year’s legislative session.