Georgia Professors Lawsuit to Stop Campus Carry Fails

Judge Kimberly Adams

In May of 2017, Governor Nation Deal signed a Campus Carry bill into law in Georgia.  In September of that year, six college professors filed a lawsuit against Governor Deal and Georgia AG Chris Carr. The professors alleged the State did not have the authority to regulate the university system. From 11alive.com:

“Whether firearms on campuses help or hinder the cause of creating a safe and secure learning environment is, to be sure, a subject of intense debate,” the lawsuit said. “Reasonable minds can and do differ on this issue, but this case is not about who is right. Rather, it is about which entity decides.”

On 9 August, 2018, Judge Kimberly Adams denied the injunction to stop the heavily regulated bearing of arms on Georgia institutions of higher learning. Judge Adams presides over the Superior Court of Fulton County.

The University of Georgia was not involved in the lawsuit. From ajc.com:

A Fulton County judge has denied an injunction request by six Georgia professors to prohibit the state’s contentious campus carry law, which allows licensed gun owners to carry a firearm on some parts of public college campuses.

(snip)

 The professors argued campus carry is dangerous and unconstitutional. The law has been long sought by conservatives and gun rights activists as a safety measure for students, faculty and administrators. Gov. Nathan Deal signed the law in 2017. He and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr were defendants in the case.

The judge ruled the lawsuit invalid, because the Governor and AG are immune from lawsuit for legal actions performed as part of their official duties, under sovereign immunity.

The professors are considering appealing the ruling.

 The Georgia campus carry law has now been in effect for over a year, without ill effects. The experience in Georgia mirrors those in other states. Six states, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Texas, and Utah, now explicitly allow for the licensed concealed carry of firearms on Campus, including inside of campus buildings.  Kansas has had Constitutional Carry on campus for over a year.

As Students for Concealed Carry on Campus predicted, problems have been minimal.

There have been no murders, rapes, suicides or assaults with guns legally carried on campus, since at least 2007.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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