Sgt. Rock
Full Access Member
While some states push to tighten gun control laws after the Connecticut school massacre, some lawmakers in gun-friendly Georgia want to ease rules preventing some mentally ill people from getting licenses to carry firearms.
Legislation up for a vote in Georgia's House on Thursday would allow people who have voluntarily sought inpatient treatment for mental illness or substance abuse to get licenses. The same bill also attempts to make it easier for officials to check on whether applicants have ever received involuntary treatment. Georgia also may change its laws to allow people to carry guns in churches, bars and on college campuses, contrary to what's happening elsewhere in the United States.
Judges in Georgia now have discretion over whether to grant a license to carry a weapon to anyone who has received inpatient treatment at a mental hospital or substance abuse treatment center in the last five years, whether it's voluntary or not.
"Simply being hospitalized doesn't make a person a criminal or a threat," said Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, the bill sponsor, in a statement.
Legislation up for a vote in Georgia's House on Thursday would allow people who have voluntarily sought inpatient treatment for mental illness or substance abuse to get licenses. The same bill also attempts to make it easier for officials to check on whether applicants have ever received involuntary treatment. Georgia also may change its laws to allow people to carry guns in churches, bars and on college campuses, contrary to what's happening elsewhere in the United States.
Judges in Georgia now have discretion over whether to grant a license to carry a weapon to anyone who has received inpatient treatment at a mental hospital or substance abuse treatment center in the last five years, whether it's voluntary or not.
"Simply being hospitalized doesn't make a person a criminal or a threat," said Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, the bill sponsor, in a statement.