ATLANTA – Gov. Nathan Deal signed legislation Thursday allowing people with permits to carry concealed handguns on public college campuses, praising GOP leaders for making the changes he demanded when he vetoed a previous campus-carry bill last year.
Deal shocked fellow Republicans with the tone of last year’s veto message, which referenced opposition to guns on the University of Virginia campus by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and an opinion by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia that described schools as “sensitive places” under the Second Amendment.
The governor signed this year’s version without a public ceremony, explaining in a written message released Thursday evening that he was swayed by the addition of campus locations where concealed handguns won’t be allowed, including on-campus preschools, faculty or administrative offices, disciplinary hearings and areas attended by high school students.
“These excluded areas represent the most ‘sensitive places’ on a college campus,” Deal wrote. “It is altogether appropriate that weapons not be allowed in these areas. I appreciate the thoughtful consideration given by the General Assembly in expanding these excluded areas within a college campus in this year’s bill.”
Georgia requires people to be at least 21 years old to apply for a concealed carry permit. Carrying handguns remains prohibited inside dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, and buildings used for athletic events.
Supporters say people must be able to protect themselves on campuses. Faculty and student groups argued that it won’t make schools any safer. The University System of Georgia also opposed the measure.
Advocacy groups accused Deal of capitulating to the National Rifle Association, which held its annual convention last week in downtown Atlanta.
“This flip-flop will be what Georgians remember about our Governor for years to come – that he bent to the Washington gun lobby that came to town for a couple of days for a convention, rather than listening to his own constituents and campus stakeholders,” said Lindsey Donovan, a volunteer with the anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action. “This will be the legacy he leaves behind.”
Georgia joins nine other states that allow concealed weapons to be carried on campuses.