Georgia Capitol Building
When members of the General Assembly decided to pass a bill to repeal Georgia's 140 year old public gathering law on Thursday night, they were confused by the irony of the largest gun rights group in the nation opposing the reform.
SB 308 passed the General Assembly late on the last day of the session. The final version removed two provisions that had been in the bill earlier decriminalizing the carry of weapons by licensed persons in churches and on college campuses. Under the final version, these two locations will remain illegal for carry.
The surprise came when the nation's largest and oldest gun rights lobby, the National Rifle Association, began lobbying against the bill. Earlier in the evening, the NRA had pushed legislators to add language expressly permitting the carry of weapons in airports. This language is already in a bill, SB 291, that the General Assembly passed earlier in the session. SB 291 is awaiting the Governor's signature. The NRA informed legislators that voting in favor of SB 308 without the amendment would be a "scorecard issue," meaning that the NRA would be using the vote against legislators in its ratings. In other words, legislators who voted to remove Georgia's restrictive public gathering law would be punished in ratings from the NRA.
The proposed amendment was never added to SB 308. When the NRA was rebuffed on its proposed amendment, it then began lobbying aggressively against the bill. The local civil rights group GeorgiaCarry.Org was at the Capitol lobbying for SB 308 to pass.
During the Senate debate, Sen. Steve Thompson stood in the well and read from GeorgiaCarry.Org's letter supporting SB 308. Calling GeorgiaCarry.Org's statement that it was tracking the SB 308 vote a "threat," Sen. Thompson reminded the Senators that they had "cover" to vote against the bill, since the NRA was not in favor. Nan Orrock also mentioned the NRA's opposition. Even the bill's author, Mitch Seabaugh, conceded that "the NRA . . . has issues with the legislation . . . I really am flummoxed . . ."
The debate was broadcast online at Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the archives are still there, which makes it all the stranger that the NRA-ILA is now claiming that it never opposed the bill. The NRA-ILA has directly called into question the credibility of three Georgia Senators and Georgia Public Broadcasting.
From Georgia Public Broadcasting,
The NRA was not in favor of the final bill.
NRA-ILA issued the following statement to an NRA member seeking an explanation.
Steve Thompson & Nan Orrock are anti-gun, D & F rated legislators. There statements are absolutely false. I would reconsider your sources.
Your third “source” is invalid, as Seabaugh never stated the NRA was against SB 308.
The problem with these statements are the multitude of witnesses at the Capitol that saw what the NRA was doing. Knowledge of NRA opposition to SB 308 on Thursday evening is not limited to two Senators with low NRA ratings.
A disappointed Chuck Turney resigned from the NRA this morning. A retired Marine now living in Georgia, Chuck was a top recruiter for the NRA, but seeing the group oppose a repeal of Georgia's public gathering law caused him to rethink his dedication to the group he had loved for decades.
Up until this morning I was a NRA Endowment Life Member and Recruiter. That 30+ year relationship ended because of the actions of the NRA last night. Now if I could only recover the time and money I have wasted all these years!
The Georgia firearms law and politics discussion and information web site, www.Georgiapacking.org, removed large links to the NRA membership page that had been displayed prominently at the bottom of every page for years. The links were visible early this morning but are now gone.
NRA members in Georgia are hoping that the NRA will repent by publicly encouraging the Governor to sign SB 308. In spite of Thursday's flap, GeorgiaCarry.Org has already sent mass emails to its members asking them to request that Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue sign SB 291, the NRA bill that passed earlier in the session. James Camp, a GeorgiaCarry.Org Board member and a founding member, said of the NRA's bill, "It is a good bill, and [GeorgiaCarry.Org] fully supports it. We are not playing any games over this issue. We definitely want the Governor to sign both bills."
UPDATE: The NRA-ILA alert sent recently urged members to encourage the Governor to sign both SB 291 and SB 308. The relevant text follows:
GEORGIA: Two Pro-Gun Bills Heading to the Governor! Two important pro-gun bills (Senate Bill 291 and Senate Bill 308) have both successfully passed and will now head to Governor Sonny Perdue's (R) desk for his consideration. SB291 would allow a person lawfully licensed to carry a concealed firearm the right to carry in all non-secure areas and while dropping off or picking up passengers at an airport or airport facility. Also included in the bill is a provision that would make the license renewal process much easier by basically creating an automatic renewal. Instead of the licensee having to remember to renew, the probate court will be required to send out renewals 90 days before expiration. SB308 would reform Georgia's concealed carry laws so that the concealed carry license would enable the person to carry any handgun or knife, openly or concealed. SB 308 would also allow concealed carry license holders to carry in more places by repealing the broad and vague "public gathering ban." Please begin contacting Governor Perdue today by phone at (404) 656-1776 or via email by clicking here and respectfully urge him to sign these important concealed carry reform bills.
Comments
As always, an excellent article, and a truthful look into the inner workings under the Gold Dome. I'm afraid that the NRA has already lost a considerable number of it's members from Georgia, and as this news spreads, stands to lose considerably more. A huge thank you to those folks at GeorgiaCarry.org and to the members who worked so hard to support Georgia Carry and this legislation.
Thanks for writing about this Mr.Stone. The NRA needs to go the way of the Dodo bird.
I belong to both GCO and the NRA. So reports of a conflict concern me. I checked the NRA site this morning. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action had this posted (dated 4/30/10)
Georgia: Two Pro-Gun Bills Heading to the Governor!
Two important pro-gun bills (Senate Bill 291 and Senate Bill 308) have both successfully passed and will now head to Governor Sonny Perdue’s (R) desk for his consideration.
[snip]
SB308 would reform Georgia’s concealed carry laws so that the concealed carry license would enable the person to carry any handgun or knife, openly or concealed. SB 308 would also allow concealed carry license holders to carry in more places by repealing the broad and vague “public gathering ban.”
Please begin contacting Governor Perdue today by phone at (404) 656-1776 or via email by clicking here and respectfully urge him to sign these important concealed carry reform bills.
My comment: If NRA-ILA disagreed with GCO on Thursday night, they sure are not disagr
I am a Patron Life Member of 46 years with the NRA who just a few weeks ago requested information on resigning my membership. It is not as simple as saying I quit.
Having said that, there are several things we should thank the NRA for. Unfortunately, standing up for our rights in GA is not one of them.
GCO and the NRA would benefit from a mutual cooperative effort. Unfortunately, the NRA either has to play by its rules or take its ball and go home. And, with what appears to reflect the size of their balls, that is not much of a task!
Thank you, Ed, for making this issue crystal clear. I think we GCO members have made it intuitively obvious to the NRA that their agenda really doesn't compliment our beliefs and convictions.
From what I've witnessed this week, NRA memberships in the state of GA will vaporize (mine already has).
I look forward to having the NRA be part of our solution, instead of a stumbling block. Until then, I'll send my NRA membership dollars to GCO.
Thanks, again!
All the best
RH
I seem to be getting conflicting information.
I got an NRA-ILA alert last night. They can be viewed @ nraila.org
Says they support the bill, and are urging their members to contact the Governor and request he sign the bill. They said they supported the bill prior to this as well.
And if they are urging the govenor to sign the bill, It most definetly wont be a "scorecard" issue.
Something smells fishy here. If the NRA says "sign the bill" then they obviously support SB308.
I seem to be getting conflicting information.
I got an NRA-ILA alert last night. They can be viewed @ nraila.org
Says they support the bill, and are urging their members to contact the Governor and request he sign the bill. They said they supported the bill prior to this as well.
And if they are urging the govenor to sign the bill, It most definetly wont be a "scorecard" issue.
Something smells fishy here. If the NRA says "sign the bill" then they obviously support SB308.
thank you Mr Stone
and thank you GCO
Thank you for getting the truth out there, Ed. Please send to everyone you know.
To Tom and Patrick:
Ever hear of Damage Control? What other choice do they actually have now? Plus, you know the majority of their members would never believe the NRA would be for gun control. Check it out. It has happened in the past - google The-Real-NRA. It was the fourth hit on my computer.
Just as I suspected. It's the "NRA is anti-gun" crowd! Haha.
It's a shame the NRA has to deal with loons on both sides of the fence.
Ill be calling Perdue monday. Thanks for the info & #
Ed,
Could you point out which video we need to be looking at for the evidence?
TIA
It was shenanigans like this that cause me to quit the NRA... Opposing pro-gun candidates in favor of Quisling incumbents, interfering in the lobbying efforts of local organizations, proposing compromises when better options were already on their way to enactment. I'm sad to see they're still up to their old tricks. There are much better places to put your time and money for activism.
Georgia isn't the only place where the NRA has worked against gun owners. If you talk to Kevin Starrett of Oregon Firearms Federation, he can tell you much the same. The NRA has fallen prey to Mission Creep; it's no longer about restoring an unabridged Second Amendment. Now, it's more about making sure that Wayne LaPierre and his cronies can afford 5 star hotels, a security detail, limousines, and 1st class air accommodations. Worse, they have all become Washington DC Insiders with as little attachment to the membership as politicians have with their constituents. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that the membership has no way of correcting these flaws since we only get to "vote" for the pre-selected board members.
Why shouldn't they oppose a bill that refuses to allow peaceable citizens their RKBA for self-defense in Churches and on College and School campuses. Reminder, dozens of unarmed citizens have been killed by criminals (who don't give a damn about the "Gun-Free Zone" laws) in Churches (Colo Springs for one) and on numerous School/College/University campuses!!
Once the legislature removed provisions legalizing the carry of firearms for self-defense on educational campuses and in churches, the NRA was right to oppose the legislation.
A few weeks ago, I was trying to differentiate
SB 291 and SB 308 due to the fact that they
contained conflicting provisions. Maybe some
NRA Lobbyist was having the same problem.
I think most of those conflicts worked themselves
out in the legislative process.
The only question I have now is the reconcilliation
of the license renewal process which varies greatly,
between the two bills, effective Jan. 1 2012.
I watched the live broadcast from the Senate and heard both comments by senators stating clearly that the NRA was against SB308. I followed up the next day and spoke with several politician friends who were there and confirmed that the NRA was lobbying against SB308 actively during the last session. I've canceled my NRA membership and sent a letter explaining my shame in having belonged to any group who would deliberately try to sabotage such an important piece of legislation for whatever selfish reasons they might have had. Congrats to GeorgiaCarry....I've been a member for years and will soon be a lifetime member!!
Quitting is not the answer! Especially for those who have paid-off Life memberships. This sounds to me like your local Legislative Liaison screwed up. Find out the truth and demand that someone be held responsible - ie FIRED!
This is not the first time NRA has screwed up nor the first time they've screwed up in Georgia, but abandoning the organization doesn't help. Refrain from sending them any money and demand - as members - that they fix the problems. The NRA Convention is being held in Charlotte, NC in just over 1 week. Take it to them and raise Hell at the Members Meeting on Saturday morning!
Thanks Jeff Knox. Quitting is not the answer. As a member of the GCO 1st and a NRA member 2nd, it pains me to see all this loud verbal infighting between the two. With wind at our backs, now is the time to work on the inside to settle our problems. By quitting either orginization we loose the option of making a diffrence.
I agree that we need and should expect an answer from the NRA on the events the night of sb308's passage. Maybe it was a problems with the licensing issue, but we do not need The NRA giving amunithion to the antigunners.
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