Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has just signed the Safe Carry Protection Act, HB 60, the most liberal gun law in the nation.
The legislators who passed it by overwhelming margins (37-18 in the GA Senate, 112-58 in the GA House) in the last days of the session festooned their bill with so many amendments that it took days to figure the provisions out. The National Rifle Association called it “the most comprehensive pro-gun” bill in recent state history. The New York Times called it "a veritable gun-lobby shopping list." Detractors said it was the "Guns Everywhere" law.
It is the gun advocates' wet dream, combining provisions the NRA struggled to get passed in other states with varying degrees of success.
And if that ain't enough, as gun rights lawyers argue in case after case, the holes they insist on as bargaining chips to let a law go through are themselves powerful arguments they use later to undercut whatever statutory provisions remain.
But the biggest win of all ... at every turn, enforcement of the law is neutered by the law itself. To see how and where, you'll have to come below the surface, but not very far.
Meteor Blades covered this abomination in http://www.dailykos.com/.... pajoly described it for DK today upon its signing.And we will doubtlessly be treated to many descriptions of it in the days to come.
But one particular set of provisions stand out, a distinguishing feature since it has so many "stand out" provisions.
16-11-137.
(a) Every license holder shall have his or her valid weapons carry license in his or her
immediate possession at all times when carrying a weapon, or if such person is exempt from having a weapons carry license ... he or she shall have proof of his or her exemption in his or her immediate possession at all times when carrying a weapon, and his or her failure to do so shall be prima-facie evidence of a violation of the applicable provision of Code Sections
(b) A person carrying a weapon shall not be subject to detention for the sole purpose of
investigating whether such person has a weapons carry license.
(c) A person convicted of a violation of this Code section shall be fined not more than
$10.00 if he or she produces in court his or her weapons carry license, provided that it was
valid at the time of his or her arrest, or produces proof of his or her exemption.
So, don't ask because the carrier doesn't have to tell. The carrier is supposed to carry a permit, but if he or she doesn't, well, it's a ten buck fine.
This astonishing approach to law enforcement shocked Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jay Brookman. His article is "A gun bill that shames entire state of Georgia" published on March 26 after the bill was passed. He broke the news this way:
If a police officer spots someone carrying a weapon in a government building, a church, an airport or anywhere else in public, the officer will be forbidden by state law from stopping that person to see if they have a gun permit. The change renders the law almost impossible to enforce, and in effect gives everybody in the state - criminal or upstanding citizen, sane or insane - an open-carry permit.
If someone claiming to have a permit for the gun in their possession is arrested, law enforcement will have no quick way to determine if it's true. Under HB 60, the state is forbidden to compile a list of those who have valid permits to carry, and permit holders who don't carry their permits with them are now subject to whopping $10 fine. ...
All in the name of the state motto, "Wisdom, Justice and Moderation," right?
More like Anarchy, Chaos and Insanity.
Y'all come down to Georgia now, y'hear? And carry with you what you will. And remember this law when a lobbyist comes by and suggests that the next bill should be amended to achieve nationwide reciprocity with the most lenient gun statute in the nation.
(Edited after publication to correct typo.)