ATLANTA — State Representatives Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell) today commented on Governor Deal signing into law HB 60, otherwise known as The Safe Carry Act.
Regarding HB 60, Rep. Morgan stated:
“Today is a disappointing day for our schools. With the signing of HB 60 into law, our state has officially codified the weaponization of our schools and put yet another burden on our teachers and administrators that distracts from their central mission: to provide our children with a high-quality education.
In our efforts to support the right for responsible gun ownership, the state legislature has simply gone too far by allowing districts to designate school personnel to carry guns. By pressing our educators into police service, the legislature has essentially usurped the authority of skilled, experienced local law enforcement to respond to and mitigate incidences of violence within our schools. Even more egregious, with this law Georgia is implicitly sanctioning any violence that may occur as the consequence of allowing handguns in our school buildings.
This issue is personal for me. Early in my professional career, I worked with young people in the metro Atlanta area on the issue of gun violence. I know all too well the devastating impact gun violence can have on families and communities. During my 12-year tenure as a state legislator, I have passionately opposed several measures that would promote the use of guns around our children, and have worked in my district to bring awareness to gun violence and remove guns from the streets of our community and take them out of the wrong hands. Last session I stood strong with many of my progressive colleagues in voting against this very bill.
If nowhere else, at school children should feel safe and cared for and adults should feel protected and be free to do the work we’ve hired them to do. As a mother of a first grader in public school, I don’t know how I or any parent can feel that armed teachers will help to create a safe environment conducive to learning for our students.
In order to ensure that we’re preparing our children to graduate from school ready for both college and career, we must allow our educators to teach and stop inundating them with responsibilities that fall far outside of their job description. I remain adamantly opposed to this law and any measure that would compromise the safety of our schools by taking the job of law enforcement out of the hands of police. If the state wishes to inject itself in this discussion, let’s provide districts the funds to hire trained law enforcement officers to protect our students, teachers and school personnel. We all want our children and schools to be safe, but this is not the way to do it.”
HB 60 will allow licensed weapons holders to carry their firearms in more places in Georgia than currently allowed by state law.
For more information on HB 60, click here.
Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan represents the citizens of District 39, which includes portions of Cobb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2002, and currently serves on the Appropriations, Education, Governmental Affairs, Health & Human Services, and Juvenile Justice committees.
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