ELLIJAY, GA– Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed groundbreaking legislation yesterday during a good old-fashioned barbecue. With hundreds in attendance, House Bill 60, or the Safe Carry Protection Act, was signed into law.

The state Legislature had little opposition passing the bill proposed by GeorgiaCarry, who praised its contents as “meaningful pro-gun legislation.”

Under the new law, which will go into effect July 1st, police won’t be allowed to ask someone to present a gun license unless they’ve committed a crime, schools will be allowed to choose whether to arm teachers and administrators, and guns will be allowed in government buildings, bars and churches.

With provisions like that, it’s easy to see why gun-control advocates are fearing the new law, calling it the “guns everywhere” bill in their disdain. Americans for Responsible Solutions called the measure “extremism in action.”

The critics couldn’t dampen the spirits of those who believe guns can save lives. Governor Deal counts himself among those, and also calls it a victory for the Second Amendment. During a press conference at the bill signing, Gov. Deal stated, “This law gives added protections to those who have played by the rules — and who can protect themselves and others from those who don’t play by the rules.”

Others don’t see it that way. Rev. Raphael Warnock, a senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, says none of their congregation will be permitted to carry a firearm. After all, it was at Ebenezer where a deacon and Rev. Martin Luther King’s mother, Alberta King, were shot to death by a mad gunman. Warnock cited this 1974 shooting as justification for barring guns from churches, and elsewhere. In response to Deal’s statements that guns can protect people from deranged shooters, Warnock stated that “had everyone been packing that day, the shooting would have been more tragic.”

“The message of today’s bill signing is very clear: Our politicians, tragically, are owned by the gun lobby,” he said. “No one asked for this bill but the gun lobby, and still, we’re here. … We will remind them in November that they work for the people.”

Rev. Warnock’s comments are understandable, but are overall misguided. If our politicians really were owned by the gun lobby, why does the Obama administration try desperately to capitalize on every major shooting to increase gun control laws? HB 60 still makes it difficult for mentally unsound individuals to obtain weapons, while simultaneously making it easier for the 500,000 Georgians who have a carry license to exercise their rights without fear of prosecution.

[about_faith]