ATLANTA (AP) - While some states push to tighten gun control laws after the Connecticut school massacre, lawmakers in gun-friendly Georgia want to ease rules preventing some mentally ill people from getting licenses to carry firearms.
Legislators in Georgia's House voted 117-56 on Thursday to allow people who have voluntarily sought inpatient treatment for mental illness or substance abuse to get licenses. The same bill would force officials to check on whether applicants have received involuntary treatment in the past five years before issuing licenses. 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. The legislation now heads to the state Senate.
That change is part of a larger package showcasing the local Republican philosophy on guns. The plan, backed by a gun owners group called GeorgiaCarry.Org, would allow people to carry weapons in churches, bars and college campuses — despite the objections of higher education officials. In response to a shooting rampage that killed 26 people in Connecticut, it would allow school officials to arm their employees.
Democrats resisted the proposal, although they conceded it would likely pass in the GOP-dominated House of Representatives. They argued that allowing guns in more places will not make society safer and may lead to more deaths.
"I'm not, by nature, a worrier," said Rep. Scott Holcomb, a Democrat. "But I worry that the mix of alcohol, drugs, sex and immaturity on college campuses could be fatal."
Law enforcement officials say they now screen people seeking to carry guns against a database with information on involuntary treatment orders, though officials acknowledge it is probably incomplete. Judges can require that people seeking a license authorize the release of treatment records and allow the judge to get a recommendation from treatment providers. Because there is no single clearinghouse for treatment information, judges would have to send waivers to multiple hospitals or treatment centers to get information.
Jasperse's bill would require that courts submit involuntary treatment orders to a database, and the legislation would force judges to run those checks before issuing a license to carry a weapon. It would also ban people whom law enforcement officials hear making threats against others in the last five years from carrying weapons. Those represented by guardians or conservators because of mental illness or drug abuse would also be disqualified.
One prosecutor said he was concerned about the provision because not everyone with serious mental illness is forced to receive treatment, meaning they would be eligible to carry weapons.
