What could possibly go wrong? Georgia set to allow drinkers to bring their handguns into bars

The bill would let bars and churches decide whether they want to allow guns inside

Several other states have passed laws to allow guns in bars, including Tennessee and Arizona

In Arizona, bar owners who don't want to allow guns inside must hang a government-issued sign in the window

Georgia lawmakers on Tuesday voted to allow bars and churches to decide for themselves whether to let gun owners carry weapons into their buildings.



The measure heads for the state Senate after the members of Georgia's House of Representatives approved the legislation with a 119-56 vote, according to the chamber's Twitter account.



The rights of gun owners became a major political issue in 2012, when the United States experienced a rash of mass shootings, including a massacre that claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut.



Lock and load: With state Senate approval, Georgia will become one of several states that allows guns in bars

Gun-control and gun-rights advocates have turned their respective efforts to statehouses after gun control legislation stalled in the U.S. Congress.



Under the Georgia bill, churches and bars would be allowed to decide whether to allow weapons inside their buildings, according to the legislation's sponsor, Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Republican.



'We don't need to be penalizing law-abiding citizens and taking away their Second Amendment rights,' Jasperse said, referring to the U.S. Constitution's right to bear arms.



The legislation would also allow secondary schools to decide whether to allow teachers and administrators to carry weapons.

Sponsor: The bill's sponsor, Rick Jasperse, says people have a Constitutional right to bring guns into bars

Georgia is one of several states either considering - or that already - allowing guns in bars.



The first state that voted to allow guns bars was Tennessee in 2009, followed by Arizona, also in 2009.

In Arizona, bar owners have the right to not allow guns into their businesses, but they are required to put a government-issued sign in the window explaining that guns are not allowed.



Twenty states' laws don't address the issue of guns in bars, which conceivably means people can carry guns in bars if they have the proper permits.



Arizona: In Arizona, bar owners who don't want guns in their businesses are forced to put a government-issued sign in the window

'The legislation does not represent the majority of people of Georgia, but only a small number of gun advocates,' said Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, a Democrat who voted against the bill.

