Questions answered by Lamar Paris, County Commissioner
Q. Why are you against guns?
A. You obviously have not been reading all of these articles over the past three weeks. Nothing is further from the truth. I own rifles, shotguns and pistols. I have hunted one form or the other most all my life. I began rabbit and squirrel hunting at the age of 12 and would go hunting with my own shotgun, by myself, for hours at a time on the mountain behind my home. This is not about gun ownership. It is about gun use. I am a property rights person first and a 2nd amendment person second. I do not think the state should be telling a county or school or individual what weapons can and can not be carried on their campuses and private property. It is not the State’s property, it is ours.
If a church or professional sporting event wants or does not want guns at their event, it should be their choice, not the Legislatures. Should I be allowed to carry a gun on your private property if you do not want it? Absolutely not.
Q. What training is required to obtain a concealed gun carry permit?
A. Georgia concealed gun carry law does not require any training, certification, or education in order to have a permit. I often hear Florida used as an example of good gun carry laws, but they at least require some training, even if minimal. So if some want the area expanded where gun carry is legal, then maybe they should first consider including training as part of the requirement.
Having said that, I believe that the vast majority of gun carry permit holders do know what they are doing and how to handle a weapon, but with the drastic increase in the number of new permits in the past eighteen months, I do not think anyone can assure us that all the new permit holders have that same knowledge.
Q. Are there different kinds of concealed gun carry permits in Georgia?
A. No, except there is a national gun permit that can be obtained by current and retired law enforcement personnel. It basically requires 15 years minimum experience in law enforcement and recertification every year on the gun range. My opinion is that people with this type license would be reasonable to carry concealed in most any location because of their experience. They would be like having extra law enforcement personnel at any event, which is always positive.
Q. The lady in Alabama that just killed three teachers in the college is just another example that if concealed gun carry had been allowed, perhaps this lady would have not been successful. The same goes for the Ft Hood shooting. How can you argue this point?
A. Well you can turn this point around and use it on the other side. Both of these individuals that did the shooting had no criminal records and if they did not have a concealed carry gun license, they both certainly would have been eligible to have one. Which brings me back to the point that we simply do not know who has a concealed weapon permit and their ability to use said weapon. They could have mental, drug or alcohol issues, but because a criminal history report does not pick this up unless they have been arrested, there is no way to know.
Q. Are their not two sides to every issue regarding guns?
A. Definitely both sides have many valid arguments both ways. As more and more crazy people do things like what happened in Alabama and Ft. Hood, it is easy to say we need more guns in the hands of the public. However, if those weapons are in untrained hands, are we better off with or without them? Can we spend too much time always thinking the worst is always going to happen and not be able to enjoy life? It is a tough issue and as I try to understand both sides, I hope others will as well. When we all become so entrenched in our beliefs that we will not even consider that their may be another legitimate side, it is not only bad for us but for our country. All we have to do is look at Washington, DC to see the results of this attitude.
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Again, I want to thank everyone that has written or spoken to me about this issue. Both pro and con, almost everyone has been very respectful and helpful. Gun carry, like many other issues leaves many people sharply divided. Based on most pro gun carry correspondence I have received from present or retired law enforcement, they have a different outlook on life. Where the average person does not really think about weapons or certainly the need to carry them, people who have spent their life with guns and dealing with criminals naturally seem to be more suspicious and guarded because they have had to be that way their entire lives. They also tend to think that most of those with permits have the same experience and ability as they do. Unfortunately, there is no way to know how accurate that is since Georgia has absolutely no training or certification guidelines for concealed gun carry.