kdp
01-17-2006, 06:36 PM
In the Tuesday Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Opinion section:
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Shoot down gun bill
A 'stand your ground' law won't make state safer; it'll only boost violence, weaken property owners' rights
Published on: 01/17/06
Since passing its "shoot first, ask questions later" law last year, the state of Florida has been derided by the international press, become the subject of an ad campaign that warns visitors not to "shout or make threatening gestures" at the natives, and provided fodder for amused bloggers, pundits and late-night comics. (What's the Sunshine State's new motto? "Florida: Don't make us come up there.'')
So guess what state — also led by cowering politicians desperate to curry the gun lobby's endorsement — is considering the same law?
Yes, Georgia state Sen. Greg Goggans (R-Douglas) and Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) have introduced their own "stand your ground" bill, which declares that a person has "the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm."
It doesn't matter if the trigger-happy shooter could have easily retreated or if he overreacted to a perceived "threat" that turned out to be a neighbor locked out and banging on the door for help. Under this broad law, a bar fight over a football game could legally end in gunfire and death if one of the combatants claimed to fear bodily harm. A gang member could legally shoot and kill a member of a rival gang, claiming he felt his life was threatened.
Eager for their own sop to the National Rifle Association, House Republicans are pushing a separate bill that in effect would strip private property owners of the right to bar weapons from their property. Under House Bill 998, employers such as Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot and UPS would be barred from telling workers not to bring weapons into employee parking lots.
No parking lots would be exempt from "Georgia's Self-Defense Act," as this legislation is called. Not schools, churches or hospitals. If a company were to fire employees for keeping guns in their cars on company-owned property, the workers would be entitled to reinstatement, compensation and attorney fees.
"The implications are enormous: domestic violence situations, disgruntled employees who are suffering from mental illness," says Alice Johnson, director of Georgians for Gun Safety.
Georgia already has a high rate of gun ownership. Under the NRA's theory that more guns equal safer streets, our state ought to be among the most crime-free in the nation. Yet we rank 11th in the rate of firearm-related deaths and ninth in firearm-related homicides, according to federal statistics.
Given those numbers, the last thing we should do is change the law to encourage trigger-happy hotheads. To the contrary, the law's fundamental purpose ought to be to discourage such behavior by setting stern consequences.
The violent among us don't need any encouragement from state political leaders. And those political leaders don't need to hand criminals in this state a new defense for getting away with murder.
At least they did allow the bill's author to get a word in:
EQUAL TIME
Right to protection paramount
By GREG GOGGANS
Published on: 01/17/06
Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
This basic philosophy is the foundation of the American psyche and way of life. However, without life, the pursuit of happiness and liberty would not exist. The ability to preserve these rights should be as fundamental as the rights themselves. Our nation's sovereignty is dependent upon our own defense. Likewise, an individual's ability to defend himself is crucial to his survival.
Our country did not become the great nation it is today by cowering in fear when threatened by those who wish us harm. Why, then, should we ask our citizens to avoid conflict when conflict is brought upon them?
Those who oppose the "stand your ground" bill argue that it is a "shoot first, ask questions later" piece of legislation. This is simply not the case. I believe that the people of this state have the capacity to judge when their lives are threatened and to act accordingly. Senate Bill 396 merely gives them the freedom to make that judgment call without fear of prosecution or retribution should this unfortunate situation ever present itself.
The legislation says that if a law-abiding citizen is in any place where he legally has the right to be and reasonably believes it necessary to use force — even deadly force — to prevent death of himself or another, then he has every right to stand his ground and meet force with force.
As Americans, we place a great value on human life. Most valuable are our own lives and the lives of those closest to us—our spouse, our children. When those things most precious to us are threatened, we absolutely should have every right to protect them without question.
This is the most basic of American rights afforded to us by the Founders. We would not be who we are today without the right to take up arms and defend ourselves against those who seek to do us harm.
Sen. Greg Goggans (R-Douglas)
may be reached by e-mail at drgg@alltel.net.
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All y'all Georgia folks need to e-mail this guy and cheer him on!
------------------------------
Shoot down gun bill
A 'stand your ground' law won't make state safer; it'll only boost violence, weaken property owners' rights
Published on: 01/17/06
Since passing its "shoot first, ask questions later" law last year, the state of Florida has been derided by the international press, become the subject of an ad campaign that warns visitors not to "shout or make threatening gestures" at the natives, and provided fodder for amused bloggers, pundits and late-night comics. (What's the Sunshine State's new motto? "Florida: Don't make us come up there.'')
So guess what state — also led by cowering politicians desperate to curry the gun lobby's endorsement — is considering the same law?
Yes, Georgia state Sen. Greg Goggans (R-Douglas) and Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) have introduced their own "stand your ground" bill, which declares that a person has "the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm."
It doesn't matter if the trigger-happy shooter could have easily retreated or if he overreacted to a perceived "threat" that turned out to be a neighbor locked out and banging on the door for help. Under this broad law, a bar fight over a football game could legally end in gunfire and death if one of the combatants claimed to fear bodily harm. A gang member could legally shoot and kill a member of a rival gang, claiming he felt his life was threatened.
Eager for their own sop to the National Rifle Association, House Republicans are pushing a separate bill that in effect would strip private property owners of the right to bar weapons from their property. Under House Bill 998, employers such as Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot and UPS would be barred from telling workers not to bring weapons into employee parking lots.
No parking lots would be exempt from "Georgia's Self-Defense Act," as this legislation is called. Not schools, churches or hospitals. If a company were to fire employees for keeping guns in their cars on company-owned property, the workers would be entitled to reinstatement, compensation and attorney fees.
"The implications are enormous: domestic violence situations, disgruntled employees who are suffering from mental illness," says Alice Johnson, director of Georgians for Gun Safety.
Georgia already has a high rate of gun ownership. Under the NRA's theory that more guns equal safer streets, our state ought to be among the most crime-free in the nation. Yet we rank 11th in the rate of firearm-related deaths and ninth in firearm-related homicides, according to federal statistics.
Given those numbers, the last thing we should do is change the law to encourage trigger-happy hotheads. To the contrary, the law's fundamental purpose ought to be to discourage such behavior by setting stern consequences.
The violent among us don't need any encouragement from state political leaders. And those political leaders don't need to hand criminals in this state a new defense for getting away with murder.
At least they did allow the bill's author to get a word in:
EQUAL TIME
Right to protection paramount
By GREG GOGGANS
Published on: 01/17/06
Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
This basic philosophy is the foundation of the American psyche and way of life. However, without life, the pursuit of happiness and liberty would not exist. The ability to preserve these rights should be as fundamental as the rights themselves. Our nation's sovereignty is dependent upon our own defense. Likewise, an individual's ability to defend himself is crucial to his survival.
Our country did not become the great nation it is today by cowering in fear when threatened by those who wish us harm. Why, then, should we ask our citizens to avoid conflict when conflict is brought upon them?
Those who oppose the "stand your ground" bill argue that it is a "shoot first, ask questions later" piece of legislation. This is simply not the case. I believe that the people of this state have the capacity to judge when their lives are threatened and to act accordingly. Senate Bill 396 merely gives them the freedom to make that judgment call without fear of prosecution or retribution should this unfortunate situation ever present itself.
The legislation says that if a law-abiding citizen is in any place where he legally has the right to be and reasonably believes it necessary to use force — even deadly force — to prevent death of himself or another, then he has every right to stand his ground and meet force with force.
As Americans, we place a great value on human life. Most valuable are our own lives and the lives of those closest to us—our spouse, our children. When those things most precious to us are threatened, we absolutely should have every right to protect them without question.
This is the most basic of American rights afforded to us by the Founders. We would not be who we are today without the right to take up arms and defend ourselves against those who seek to do us harm.
Sen. Greg Goggans (R-Douglas)
may be reached by e-mail at drgg@alltel.net.
------------------------------
All y'all Georgia folks need to e-mail this guy and cheer him on!