Georgia House Passes Dangerous Permitless Carry Legislation, Moms Demand Action, Student Demand Action Respond

The Georgia chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statement after the Georgia House voted to pass HB 1358, dangerous permitless carry legislation to eliminate the state’s permit requirement for carrying a handgun in public, including on public college campuses. If passed into law, this legislation would put Georgia in the extreme minority of states that require colleges to allow people to carry concealed handguns without a permit. 

“We’re treading dangerously close to worsening our state’s gun violence crisis, and the House just brought us one step closer,” said Elaine DeSimone, a volunteer with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Lawmakers know permitless is not only a bad policy, but that it’s unpopular too. These officials were elected to serve the people of Georgia, not to do the gun lobby’s bidding — and it’s time they started acting like it.”

Recent polling from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows overwhelming opposition to permitless carry from Georgia voters. Law enforcement officers across the country have also come out in staunch opposition to permitless carry legislation, including in Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana and South Carolina. Despite this, state lawmakers continue to push this dangerous and unpopular policy.

Georgia has some of the country’s weakest firearm laws, scoring only 11.5 out of 100 for gun law strength while maintaining an above average level of gun violence. The concealed carry permit requirement is one of Georgia’s only remaining foundational gun safety laws, and today’s vote puts the state at high risk of eliminating one of their last public safety guardrails and exacerbating their gun violence crisis. 

In an average year, 1,693 people die by guns in the state of Georgia, and 4,492 more are wounded. More information on gun violence in Georgia is available here.