NRA: Workers have right to keep guns in vehicle
Contact the NRA and ask them to support HB 915 for us this year. Their number is 800-392-8683. It does not matter if you are or are not a member.
Why would NRA support a bill that was clearly introduced with the intent of gutting its own bill (
HB89)? HB 915 contains a section that could only have been written by the GA Chamber of Commerce or other business interest in GA. One has to wonder why Georgia Carry is actively working to oppose a progun bill being advocated for by NRA(HB89). Why is Georgia Carry actively organizing folks in opposition to NRA's bill and suggesting they come to the Capitol to oppose it while Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox are at the Capitol tomorrow for their
press conference. Did the GA Chamber make a contribution? Why would this group want to push a bill that actually makes it easier for businesses to to prohibit permit holders and other gun owners from their property. How much value is your permit to carry if you can only possess a firearm on public roadways but must leave it at home during your commute to and from work.
I just find it strange that they would include this section and that a "pro-gun" group like Georgia Carry would be pressing for its enactment:
HB 915 SECTION 4.
(c) This Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit, restrict, or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of a private property owner, unless such private property has been leased to a government entity, and nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit, restrict, or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of a private tenant, private employer, or private business entity.
Contrary to what is being suggested by some, NRA is supporting pro-gun legislation in GA, legislation that will protect the integrity of GA's permit to carry law and our Second Amendment rights. I have attached NRA's OPed in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution below.
Workers have right to keep guns in vehicle
Unreasonable company anti-gun policies continue to cause major problems for working men and women.
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2008/01/07/equaled_0107.html
By CHRIS W. COX,
Executive Director, NRA-ILA
Published on: 01/07/08
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is trying to defend the indefensible ("Armed, dangerous to common sense." @issue Jan. 3). The Chamber believes that corporate interests trump civil rights. The National Rifle Association doesn't.
Let me state our position for the record. The NRA believes individual, constitutional rights are guaranteed by our Bill of Rights. We strongly believe in private property rights. We also strongly believe that the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens should not be trampled by corporations on their publicly accessible parking lots. And we believe that these rights are not conditional upon where a person may lawfully travel.
When property owners open a place of business, they consent to rules that limit their property rights. Property rights are constrained by civil rights laws, zoning laws, safety inspections, fire codes, and accommodations that are required for the disabled.
In fact, there are laws governing every parking lot owned by any business. These rules dictate the number, size and placement of parking spots. Bear in mind that the Constitution says nothing about a right to park a vehicle. But the Chamber isn't concerned about these limitations on their property rights. The Chamber chooses to fight against the basic right of self-defense of men and women who are their workers, customers and visitors, in short, their most valuable assets.
Why? The answer, regrettably, is too common in today's business world – lawsuits and liability. Companies fear being blamed for criminal acts by third parties, if they are committed on company property. That's a valid concern.
That's why the legislation supported by the NRA includes very clear language that limits the liability of companies who respect the rights of their employees, customers and visitors. And the bill goes even further. It would protect the rights only of law-abiding citizens, and would only protect that right within the citizen's vehicle, not the workplace itself. The bill states that no new duties are created for such property owners and employers, and the bill does not provide an exception to the doctrine of employment-at-will.
Regardless, the Chamber has called this legislation "childish, shameless, false, misguided," and a "monumental waste." The working men and women who have lost their jobs over this issue would beg to differ. Many business owners in Georgia who do not share the Chamber's irrational fear of the Second Amendment might also differ over whether the Chamber is misguided in how it is spending members' dues.
Contrary to what the Chamber would have Georgians believe, this concept is neither new nor peculiar. It's the law in Alaska, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma. And dozens of other states will debate similar legislation in the months ahead.
Why? Because unreasonable company anti-gun policies continue to cause major problems for working men and women and their families. In rural Oklahoma, a company brought in law enforcement dogs to perform random, warrantless searches of workers' vehicles — on the first day of deer hunting season. Employees who had guns safely locked and secured in their vehicles were immediately fired. And now, corporate lobbyists in Florida have defiantly told legislators that they can even ban Bibles from workers' cars.
In essence, they claim they can violate everyone's basic civil rights under the guise of their sanctimonious property rights. Workers are being fired for having guns locked in their cars, whether for personal protection, or to go hunting or target shooting after work. Workers, like the single mother with an abusive ex, who comply with these rigid policies are forced to decide between their paychecks and their safety.
We want the citizens and employers of Georgia to learn the truth. We have put the text of the bill on our Web site, along with a fact sheet that explains its provisions, at
www.NRAILA.org/HB89. To any unbiased observer, it will be immediately clear that all; employers, as well as their employees, customers and visitors, will have greater protections of all their rights if this bill is enacted into law.
H.B. 89 is a reasonable bill that preserves individual civil rights and addresses corporate concern over liability. It deserves to be law.
