ARS Delivers Petition Signatures to Georgia State Senate
Americans for Responsible Solutions, a national organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and retired combat veteran and astronaut Captain Mark Kelly to support responsible gun ownership, will deliver and present a petition today signed by more than 8,750 of its Georgia members at the Committee Meeting for Senate Judiciary at 1 p.m. ET in Room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building.
The Committee is holding the first State Senate hearing on HB 875, the so-called “guns everywhere bill.” Michael Bishop, a Georgia resident and Air Force veteran whose son Jamie was killed in the Virginia Tech massacre, will deliver the petitions on behalf of ARS. Additionally, more than 50,000 people signed a nation-wide petition in opposition to the legislation, which would allow guns into Hartsfield-Jackson, the nation’s busiest airport and Georgia’s largest employer.
“Jeri and I humbly stand before this Senate committee on behalf of our son, Jamie, but we do not stand alone,” said Michael Bishop, a Georgia resident and Air Force veteran whose son Jamie was killed in the Virginia Tech massacre. “More than 50,000 Americans and many Georgians have signed a petition asking you in this late hour to set aside this bill so that we may work together on responsible, common-sense solutions to reduce gun violence. We are honored to present to you the names of so many who took the time to make sure their voices are heard on this day.”
“An Atlanta Journal Constitution poll found that more than 70 percent of Georgians are opposed to this bill’s central provisions, and our petitions show that people are intensely concerned that its passage will make them less safe,” said Pia Carusone, executive director of Americans for Responsible Solutions. “Already some 50,000 Americans have said that they want to stop this bill, which would endanger the approximately 95 million airline passengers and crew members that pass through Hartsfield-Jackson each day. And more than 10,000 Georgians have spoken out against this bill through petitions, calls and emails to their legislators. Georgians want to prevent this bill from becoming law and help keep their schools, churches, and libraries safe.”
HB 875 already passed the State House. It would allow K-12 teachers, administrators, staff or anyone authorized by a local school board to carry firearms anywhere on school grounds. It would decriminalize campus carry. It would allow people to conceal carry in houses of worship and bars, unless the organization specifically opted out. It would allow guns in state and local government buildings; libraries, city council meetings, even senior centers. And it would decriminalize the act of attempting to bring a gun into the TSA-secured areas of Georgia airports, thereby impacting not only Georgia residents, but also the tens of millions of people from around the country and the world who pass through Georgia airports every year.