Campus Carry isn’t coming to Georgia anytime soon.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday he has vetoed a bill allowing concealed handguns on college campuses, rejecting the proposal that was easily approved by a legislature controlled by his own party in an election year.
The bill would have allowed anyone age 21 and over to carry a concealed handgun with the proper permit on a public college or university campus. The veto decision comes weeks after Deal rejected a bill shielding opponents of gay marriage. That measure was backed by conservative groups but blasted by more than 500 Georgia companies as discriminatory.
While nine other states have laws on the books that allow for campus carry, it doesn’t look like Georgia is going to be joining the ranks. The Governor isn’t the only one who thinks that campus carry is a bad idea. All 29 public universities in the state, including many police chiefs, have publicly stated their opposition to the bill.
Governor Deal had asked the General Assembly to exempt a few places from the bill, including on-campus day care centers, university disciplinary hearings, as well as faculty and administrative offices.
When they declined, that’s apparently when the decision to veto took center stage.
