ATLANTA, GA – The Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, tonight released the following statement in response to the passage of HB 859—after it was snuck through the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee with no prior public notice. Although the agenda for the Committee was publicly released last week, the bill sponsor claimed the Committee Chair formally announced the bill was on the agenda only 90 minutes before the hearing. The bill would force Georgia’s public colleges and universities to allow guns on campus, including in classrooms and campus common areas, defying the opposition of 78 percent of Georgians.
“We’re disappointed in tonight’s last-minute dangerous capitulation to the gun lobby,” said Lindsey Donovan, volunteer Chapter Leader of the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Tonight Georgia lawmakers have shown that they care more about the gun lobby’s interests than either transparent democracy or students’ safety at our colleges and universities. Georgians deserve a fair and open debate about the risks associated with forcing guns onto college campuses. Four out of five Georgians don’t want guns forced onto college campuses because it’s just common sense that adding firearms into the mix of drugs, alcohol, and academic pressure already so pervasive at our colleges and universities would make no sense.”