I support the Second Amendment and believe those who wish to own a gun (legally) for their own purposes (hunting, target practice, etc) should be able to do so. However, I am mystified by Georgia’s new law that is scheduled to go in effect on July 1^st allowing legal gun owners to take weapons into bars, churches and government buildings under certain conditions and furthermore authorizes schools to allow staff members to carry weapons on campus.

Has Columbine, Virginia Tech, Newtown already become a distant memory? Do people truly feel so threatened that as they are getting ready for church Sunday morning they are putting on their suits and strapping their guns to their waist? Am I the only one that the thinks guns + bar + intoxicated people = disastrous outcome?

I feel like a law like this is inevitably going to make those who do legally own a gun and use it in a proper way (i.e. hunting, shooting range) give them a made stigma. Maybe I am mostly concerned because in all of the school shootings that have happened the teachers have not been able to keep the children let alone themselves safe but now we might be allowing them to carry a gun in which the intruder could turn against them or even maybe worse have that teacher have to make the choice of using it. Our teachers are not trained military personnel or police officers so why are we are making them act like one? I am not sure what the answer to the school violence is, but this is certainly not it. Definitely more security is a must but I cannot see how bringing weapons into this helps. I can’t help but think what message are we sending to the intruders of these school shootings, free ammo once you get inside?

This new law scares me because I feel if one state can pass a law like this then others are sure to follow. I can’t help but wonder however how many tragedies, deaths, accidents will have to occur before we decide this was not the way to go?