Everytown, Georgia Moms Thank Governor Deal for Vetoing Bill Forcing Guns Onto College Campuses

Polling Shows that Georgians Overwhelmingly Oppose Guns on Campus

ATLANTA – The Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today celebrated Governor Deal’s veto of H.B. 859, which would have forced Georgia’s public colleges and universities to allow guns on campus, including in classrooms, disciplinary hearings, and at most campus events, including places where alcohol is served or consumed. Nearly 80 percent of Georgians oppose allowing guns on campus and the governor has heard from at least 30,000 Georgians asking him to veto.

“I am so grateful that the Governor listened to Georgia students, faculty and parents and vetoed this dangerous legislation,” said Lindsey Donovan, volunteer leader of the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “This veto is thanks to thousands of Georgians who have spoken out and rallied against guns on campus. The leadership shown by Governor Deal with this veto should stand as proof to other elected officials that this is not a partisan issue and that they too can stand up to the gun lobby. I’m thrilled that our voices were heard and that the will of the gun lobby no longer goes unchecked in the state of Georgia.”

Everytown and the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action have been part of a statewide effort to urge the Governor to veto guns on campus. On the last day of the legislative session, volunteers with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action helped to deliver more than 20,000 signatures of Georgians opposing the bill. The Moms Demand Action volunteers worked on behalf of the more than 120,000 Everytown supporters in the state and in conjunction with campus leaders to deliver the simple message that the safety of college communities should come before the interests of the gun lobby. During the campaign, Everytown also launched a television ad calling on the Governor to reject this dangerous legislation and placed multiple full-page ads in the Augusta Chronicle during The Masters.

Last year, Georgia was one of seventeen states that rejected guns on campus legislation. Texas and Idaho are the most recent of only eight states to force colleges to allow guns on campus, and they are already seeing the negative consequences. Just weeks after Idaho’s guns on campus bill went into effect, a professor shot himself in the foot during class. In Texas, renowned professors have announced that they will leave the UT system to take jobs in other states, while many of the educators who have remained in Texas have said that the law is undermining professors’ ability to teach. What’s more, Texas will have to endure skyrocketing insurance costs as a result of the law that will cut into research budgets.