Thursday, February 25, 2016

Oconee County’s Two Representatives Vote In Favor Of Guns On University Campuses

Expand 2014 Law

Oconee County’s two representatives in the Georgia House of Representatives were among the majority that voted in favor this week of a law to allow for handguns on the University of North Georgia campus as well as on other public university properties around the county and state.

The Georgia Board of Regents and Chancellor Hank Huckabee, who lives in Oconee County, have opposed allowing guns on colleges campuses.

The bill now goes to the Senate for action.

The bill still prohibits guns at “athletic sporting events” and in student housing, including at fraternity and sorority houses that are owned or leased by the university.

The bill requires that the handgun be concealed.

Quick And Williams

Rep. Regina Quick, who represents the Oconee County precincts of Athens Academy, Malcom Bridge and Bogart, joined Rep. Chuck Williams, who represents the remainder of Oconee County, in the majority vote on Monday.

UNG Entrance

The bill passed 113 to 59.

The majority of the residents of Quick’s 117th District is in Athens-Clarke County, home to the University of Georgia.

A slight majority of the residents of Williams’ 119th District also is in Athens-Clarke County and it includes the bulk of the central campus of the University of Georgia and its dormitories.

Spencer Frye, who represents Athens-Clarke County in 118th District, voted against House Bill 859.

Quick and Williams are Republicans, while Frye is a Democrat.

Williams replaced Huckabee in the General Assembly when Huckabee became chancellor.

Extends Coverage Area

In 2014, the General Assembly passed a wide-ranging bill allowing for the carrying of weapons around the state. Quick and Williams supported that bill.

The bill made an exception for school safety zones and for properties of the state’s institutions of higher education.

The bill passed on Monday eliminates the campus exemption and allows concealed weapons “in any building or on real property owned by or leased to any public technical school, vocational school, college, or university, or other public institution of postsecondary education.”

Included would be the University of North Georgia campus on Bishop Farm Parkway off Government Station Road between Butler’s Crossing and Watkinsville as well as University of Georgia properties around Oconee County.

UGA owns and leases farmland in the county, including near the University of North Georgia campus.

In addition, the University has an 109-acre equestrian complex on Astondale Road outside Bishop, and the University System has the Information Technology Services building on Daniells Bridge Road.

Second Bill

The House, with Quick and Williams voting in the majority, also passed on Monday a second bill allowing for stun guns, tasers and other “electroshock” weapons on campuses.

Quick was a co-sponsor of that legislation.

It applies “to any commercially available device that is powered by electrical charging units and designed exclusively to be capable of incapacitating a person by electrical charge.”

Frye did not vote on that legislation.

7 comments:

Dark Horse said...

Bravo Zulu to our State Reps.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness. Still not where we need to be (conceal carry anywhere, anytime), but a good move in the right direction.

Rosemary Woodel said...

Good grief!

Xardox said...

Now it's legal.

Anonymous said...

Excellent!

Beanne said...

Really, you want people to have guns everywhere? You do realize this means the bad guys also have guns everywhere as well as the crazy people since we have such weak background checks. You also realize that to date, not one mass shooter has been stopped by a citizen with conceal carry. Why not? Because when someone is killing everyone, those concealed weapons become the last thing the people being shot at think about. So, OK return us to the days of the wild west and watch the mass shootings and deaths continue. How many this week so far?

Anonymous said...

Hey Beanne - You do realize that most if not all mass shootings occur in "Gun Free Zones" where law abiding concealed carriers do not take their guns because the law prevents them. Of course laws do not stop the criminal or crazy. At least now if I am on a University campus and some criminal or nut wants to stop popping caps into innocent people, me and hopefully many others, will at least be armed with the possibility to respond. But something tells me the criminal and nuts will go to some of the places where they still do not have to worry about being stopped by someone with conceal carry, like a public elementary school. Why are you afraid of the law abiding citizen? The criminals and crazy don't care and the only thing that has ever stopped one of these mass shootings, is someone showing up with a gun! This will help to ensure someone with a gun can respond quicker saving lives. If you don't understand that, you may be too blinded by your hatred of guns. Guns are not the problem. When I graduated from high school in 1980, we had our shotguns in our gun racks in our trucks in the school parking lot. The ROTC Rifle team carried their rifles on the bus and into the school to our indoor rifle range. What has changed since then? Not the GUN! Fix the real problem.