On Wednesday April 23, 2014, the governor of Georgia, Nathan Deal, signed HB60 into law. This law will expand the areas in which firearms may be carried by citizens of the state that have obtained a concealed carry permit. The law allows for citizens to carry into bars only if not prohibited by the establishment. It also allows for citizens to carry into religious buildings only if allowed by the religious leaders, and it gives authority for a “duly authorized official” to appoint a person to have a weapon on school grounds.

Furthermore, the law gives leniencies to those with a concealed carry permit that accidentally bring a gun to an airport security checkpoint in the state of Georgia.

Critics of this law have dubbed HB60 as the “guns everywhere” bill. They claim that by the state allowing more guns into more places, crime will rise and more people will be affected negatively. Proponents of this bill believe that the opposite effect will occur, and in fact, this bill will save more lives. It also lessens the hold government has on our Second Amendment rights.

Personally, I applaud this bill. I’m glad that our elected officials are loosening the red tape restrictions the government has placed on our rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The best part of this bill is the fact that our schools now have the ability to protect the students that attend. As I have advocated before using this platform, schools need the opportunity to be able to arm teachers and staff in order to combat lunatics that prey on our children. Because of this law, we are now able to do just that.

One part of the law that was scrubbed from the original bill gave the right for citizens to legally carry on college campuses statewide. The “campus carry” provision was removed prior to Gov. Deal signing the bill. This is a fiercely debated topic concerning whether or not we should have the right to protect ourselves on college campuses. Hopefully one day our state legislators will allow us law-abiding citizens the opportunity to defend ourselves by authorizing legislature that gives us the right to carry on campuses statewide.