Georgia Professors Lawsuit to Stop Campus Carry Fails

Gun Watch ^ | 22 August, 2018 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

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.

Gun Watch

[marktwain]

The Professors claim the Georgia legislature does not have the authority to allow campus carry.

[FreedomPoster]

Moronic on the face of it.

[metmom]

I would suppose that it would depend on whether they are private universities or STATE colleges.

[Yo-Yo]

The Professors claim the Georgia legislature does not have the authority to allow campus carry.

The professors claimed a lot of things, trying to find one that would stick to the wall.

They claimed their First Amendment rights were being violated because they had to moderate their speech in class on the fear that an armed student would disagree with what they said and shoot them.

They claimed their Second Amendment rights were being violated because the campus carry law was not "well regulated."

And they claimed that their Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated because the university lacked a 'rational basis' for determining where concealed carry would be allowed on campus.

[Yo-Yo]

Oops, that was a Texas campus carry case, not this Georgia case. My bad!

[PAR35]

The University of Georgia was not involved in the lawsuit.

From the embedded link from Channel 11: "and was brought by three UGA, two Valdosta State and one Georgia Southwestern State professors."

It would be more precise to say that the University system is not institutionally involved in the lawsuit. UGA is paying the salaries of half of the plaintiffs.

[real saxophonist]

I went to GA Southern. My dad was Professor Emeritus at Valdosta State. He and many of his peers were WWII veterans. Be interesting to hear what they would have to say about things today.

[bgill]

Good. Just like University of Texas’ “Cocks Not Glocks” failed.

[Getready]

Dont know why professors afraid...tbere is no protection for them from banned firearms also...they are not regulated...law can be ambigous..(are armed cash guards allowed on campus?)...plus a crazy person with a gun might disagree with their wisdom and shoot them with a banned firearm....hey coward professorsss...suck it up and SHELTER IN PLACE.

[Boogieman]

“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.”

Looks like they should have gotten a law professor to join their crusade.