Georgia lawmaker supports open carry

From Georgia:

Unlike most states, Georgia requires a permit to carry an unconcealed handgun. But now Georgia State Representative Tim Bearden (R – Carroll and Douglas Counties) seeks to change that by introducing HB 615.

Already attracting 5 co-sponsors in the Georgia legislature, HB 615 does a number of things to comprehensively reform Georgia’s onerous gun carry laws, but the centerpiece of the bill is Section 3 which repeals the requirement to have a permit to carry an unconcealed handgun. Bearden, a former police officer and rising star in the eyes of gun rights experts, has a good track record at getting good gun bills passed. Just last year this junior legislator’s HB 89 repealed Georgia’s gun carry bans in state parks, airports, as well as restaurants serving alcohol.

But Georgia’s HB 615 is also a sign of the growing strength of the open carry movement highlighted last year by ABC Nightline News the night before the Supreme Court released the D.C. v. Heller decision quashing the DC gun ban on second Amendment grounds. In many states, even California, the open carrying of handguns is on the rise. ...

Article here. The open carry movement continues to gather steam.