WLTZ 38 | Columbus Georgia Regional News & CommunityGeorgians could be seeing more lenient gun laws in the future

By Sara Belsole

COLUMBUS, GA - A new bill introduced this legislative session aims at amping up your second amendment rights.

"I can potentially defend myself and my wife in more places, which I like. I like having the ability to pretty much carry wherever I want just in case," Phillip Huckaby, an instructor at Shooters of Columbus, says.

If House Bill 981 passes, it would allow Georgians to carry concealed weapons in places like bars, public schools, college campuses and government buildings.

"Gun laws are pretty lenient right now, and with this new legislation they want to make even more areas available to citizens for citizens who want to exercise their right to the second amendment," Major Randy Robertson with the Muscogee County Sheriff's Office says.

In order to carry concealed weapons, you must pass an extensive background check.

"There's criminal background checks, there's fingerprinting, it's pretty detailed requirement," Robertson says.

If the law passes, it would still be illegal to bring a concealed gun into a court house. And in Columbus, since the court house in inside the Government Center, it would still be illegal to bring a gun inside the Government Center.

"I don't think the new legislation will have a huge impact on this building," Robertson says.

In addition, the bill would prevent law enforcement from disarming people during states of emergency.

In wake of tragedies like Columbine and the Virginia Tech shooting, some critics say the new bill endangers the public.

But many gun-carriers say they support the bill.

"You're talking about a very small sub-group of people who have jumped through all the hoops and all the hurdles to absolutely do the right thing. That group of people is not the group that is causing crimes and trouble in this area," Shooters of Columbus owner, John McMullen, says.

Some say the bill also causes conflict between second amendment rights and personal property rights.

"That's the business owner's right, to stop people from carrying weapons into their place of business," Robertson says.

"If I went to a place that says you can't carry here, if they saw that I was carrying and asked me to leave, I would have to or else I am breaking the law," Huckaby says.

Legislative leaders say the bill is not a top priority right now it's hard to gauge the success of the bill. They say if it does pass, it will be a slow-moving process.