Residents of Georgia are now allowed to conceal and carry a handgun anywhere a licensed permit holder can thanks to the measure the Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law on Tuesday.
Pointing out that it’s the Constitution of the United States and not the government that gives them that right, Kemp noted that law-abiding Georgians can now protect themselves without having to have protection from the state government.
The law also allows persons authorized to carry in another state to carry in Georgia without a permit. The only exemptions of the contentious new law, dubbed the Georgia Constitutional Carry Act, are felons or persons involved with mental health treatment in the past five years.
The act has cleared the state legislature along party lines at the beginning of April, making Georgia the second state to enact a permitless carry law for handguns this year, after Alabama, although about 20 US states already have similar measures.
Georgia GOP Sen. Jason Anavitarte, who sponsored the bill in the state Senate, called the law a victory for the safety, security, and constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens Georgians, empowering them to defend themselves and their families, ad well as for disincentivizing criminals.
Stressing that the new law puts Georgians in danger amid an ongoing surge in mass shootings across the US, Georgia Democrats held a rally on Tuesday in opposition to the law, claiming that 70% of residents consider it dangerous.
They also called on Georgia voters to hold Governor Kemp responsible in the gubernatorial election, underscoring that they refuse to accept a Georgia where it’s easier for criminals to carry guns but hard for many residents to get health care.
The most like Democratic candidate that Kemp will face in the midterm election if he wins the Republican primary, is Stacey Abrams who tweeted on Tuesday that Kemp’s aware that states with similar laws have seen increases in gun violence.
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