This past December I pre-filed House Bill 679, the bill better known as the “Georgia Constitutional Carry Act of 2012.”
As an architect of this legislation, I am proud to introduce a bill that finally removes the requirement to obtain government permission to carry a weapon for the purpose of self-defense.
Should “Constitutional Carry” become law, the Georgia state government will finally recognize the right of lawful and peaceable individuals to arm themselves without purchasing a license.
This will finally bring to an end over 100 years of Georgia law violating both the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States as well as Article I, Section I, Paragraph VIII of the Constitution of the State of Georgia.
This last statement undoubtedly conjures strong emotions in some individuals, so please allow me to clarify this development in the context of human dignity. I can summarize it very briefly as follows.
Each of us is the owner of his own life, and with this life come certain inseparable attributes. Our Declaration of Independence referred to these as unalienable rights, and these self-evident axioms cannot be surrendered, only violated.
One of these rights is your right to your own life because you are the only person able to live it. As such, you have an absolute and unalienable right to defend yourself, even with weaponry. When government forces you to purchase a “license” to carry a concealed weapon, the state of Georgia has violated a right and cast it as a “privilege.”
A privilege requires permission; a right does not. You, the individual, have a right to arm yourself. You, the individual, have a right to defend yourself. You, the individual, are the only person who cannot accept a bribe to damage your own security.
This right is not dependent on your political affiliation, your race, your gender, your sexual preference, your ability to pay a fine or tax, or any other factor.
So my question to the people in Georgia is this: if you have a right to do something, why are you paying for permission to do it? Don’t you think it’s time the state of Georgia recognizes that you don’t need the permission of government bureaucrats to defend your own life?
This last point summarizes the focus of this legislation. It is much more than a bill to decriminalize the lawful carrying of weapons. It codifies the obvious: that no one has the authority to deprive you of your right to self-defense.
I have no doubt that those who oppose this basic right will work to misconstrue the purpose and actual effect of this legislation. This legislation does not repeal Georgia’s existing weapons permit law.
Instead, weapons permits are made optional to ensure that weapons carry reciprocity with other states is preserved.
This legislation does not permit the carrying of a weapon by felons, the mentally ill, juveniles, or anyone otherwise prohibited from possessing a weapon under state and federal law. This legislation preserves the ability of prosecutors to pursue charges of those crimes. This legislation does not alter state or federal law with regard to purchasing a firearm.
In short, this legislation restores the protection of law to our God-given right bear arms.
To say the least, I am proud of this legislation and consider it one of the finest achievements of my time in office.
Jason Spencer
State Representative
180th House District
Woodbine, Ga.
[Rep. Spencer represents Camden and a portion of Glynn counties in southeast Georgia.]
