HB 280 Is Legislature’s Fourth Attempt to Force Guns Onto Georgia’s College Campuses
Governor Deal Vetoed Legislation Substantially Similar to HB 280 in 2016; Polling Shows Allowing Guns on Campus Are Overwhelmingly Opposed by Georgians – and the Majority of Voters Don’t Want Legislators Wasting Time on the Issue
ATLANTA – The Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the statement below in response to the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security’s vote today advancing HB 280, a dangerous gun bill which would force Georgia’s public colleges and universities to allow guns on campus, including in classrooms, disciplinary hearings and at most campus events, including places where alcohol is served or consumed. The bill heads next to the House Rules Committee, which will calendar the bill for a House floor vote.
Proposed guns on campus measures have failed to become law for the past three years. In May 2016, Governor Nathan Deal vetoed a guns on campus bill substantively similar to HB 280. Nearly 80 percent of Georgians oppose allowing guns on campus and the governor heard from more than 30,000 Georgians last spring asking him to veto the bill.
STATEMENT FROM LINDSEY DONOVAN, VOLUNTEER CHAPTER LEADER WITH THE GEORGIA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“Today, Georgia lawmakers chose to disregard the concerns of people in our state and do something that our Founding Fathers were loathe to do – allow guns on our college and university campuses. As Governor Deal pointed out last year, when Presidents Jefferson and Madison sat on the Board of Visitors to the University of Virginia, they explicitly rejected allowing guns on campus, solidifying the widely accepted idea that our schools should remain safe havens for learning. It is time for our lawmakers to heed a lesson from the Founding Fathers, and oppose this dangerous legislation that puts our campus communities at risk.”