Georgians For The Support Of House Bill 89

We, the citizen's of the state of Georgia and supporters of our 2nd Amendment rights, do hereby sign this petition in favor of Georgia House Bill 89, further stated as:





A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 3 of Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the carrying and possession of firearms, so as to change certain provisions regarding the transportation of certain firearms; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.



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Representative Bearden of the 68th offers the following amendment:



Amend the Senate substitute to HB 89 (LC 38 0516S) by inserting after "certain firearms;" on line 7 on page 1 "to prohibit the carrying of firearms and other weapons into certain buildings; to provide a definition; to authorize the carrying of firearms in certain locations;".

By inserting after line 14 on page 3 the following:

SECTION 4.Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 16-11-127, relating to carrying deadly weapons to or at public gatherings, as follows:"16-11-127.



(a) Except as provided in Code Section 16-11-127.1, a person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor when he or she carries any explosive compound, firearm, or knife designed for the purpose of offense and defense into a prohibited building.



(b) For the purpose of this Code section,'prohibited building' means buildings housing any of the following: professional or college athletic or sporting events,political rallies or functions,government offices, 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.



(c) This Code section shall not apply to competitors participating in organized sport shooting events. Law enforcement officers, peace officers retired from state or federal law enforcement agencies, judges, magistrates, solicitors-general, and district attorneys may carry pistols in government office buildings.



(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of this Code section if a person notifies a law enforcement officer or other person employed to provide security for a prohibited building of the presence of such item as soon as possible after learning of its presence and surrenders or secures such item as directed by such law enforcement officer or other person employed to provide security for such prohibited building.



(e) A person licensed or permitted to carry a firearm by this part shall be permitted to carry such firearm, subject to the limitations of this part, in all parks, historic sites, and recreational areas notwithstanding Code Section 12-3-10, in wildlife management areas notwithstanding Code Section 27-3-1.1 and 27-3-6, and in public transportation notwithstanding Code Sections 16-12-122 through 16-12-127; provided, however, that a person shall not carry a firearm into a place prohibited by federal law."



By redesignating Sections 4 through 8 as Sections 5 through 9, respectively.



By striking lines 9 through 18 on page 4 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

required. The law enforcement agency shall return the application and the blank license form with the fingerprint thereon directly to the judge of the probate court within such time period. Not later than ten days after the judge of the probate court receives the report from the law enforcement agency concerning the suitability of the applicant for a firearms license, the judge of the probate court shall issue the such applicant a license or renewal license to carry any pistol or revolver unless facts establishing ineligibility have been reported or unless the judge determines such applicant has not met all the qualifications, is not of good moral character, or has failed to comply with any of the requirements contained in this Code section; provided, however, that if the report from the law enforcement agency contains information that, in the opinion of the judge of the probate court, requires further investigation, the judge of the probate court shall be authorized to investigate such information if such investigation is undertaken and pursued on an expedited basis. The judge of the probate court shall date stamp the report from the law enforcement agency to show the date on which the report was received by the judge of the probate court."