'Campus carry' bill to be resurrected

ATLANTA - Should college students be allowed to have guns on campus? It was one of the most controversial issues at the state Capitol last year. Lawmakers approved a bill to make it legal for students 21 and over to carry on Georgia’s public college campuses, but Governor Nathan Deal vetoed the measure.

On the first day of the 2017 Georgia Legislative Session, already one state lawmaker said he plans to file an almost identical campus carry bill and others are ready to fight it

“As bill dropped it will looks almost identical to the ones prior,” said State Rep. Rick Jasperse, (R) Jasper.

But opponents believe the Governor's veto should have marked the end of the debate. 

“Why we would waste Georgian’s valuable time? [...] It is sort of hard to fathom,” said State Sen. Elena Parent, (D) Decatur.

Senator Parent was one of the most vocal critics of the legislation in 2016. The Decatur Democrat raised concerns about guns near on campus daycare centers, in professor’s offices and in classes with joint-enrollment students, issues lawmakers failed to address before the bill landed on Deal’s desk.

State Rep. Jasperse said his new bill does not address those issues and will be almost identical to the one the House passed last year. But he said it’s just a starting point for what he knows will be vigorous discussion.

“We know it’s a reach for some people,” said Rep. Jasperse, who plans to drop that bill sometime later this week. 

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