Your morning jolt: Congress vs. Georgia over guns at Hartsfield-Jackson
This piece from my AJC colleague Bob Keefe, on a building confrontation between Congress and the state of Georgia, hasn’t gotten enough attention:
Taking direct aim at controversial gun legislation just passed by the Georgia General Assembly, a New Jersey senator has introduced a bill that would expand federal regulations on guns in airports.
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)/Associated Press
Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s “Firearm-Free Airports Act” would make it illegal to carry a firearm into any non-federally regulated area of an airport, including the lobby, baggage claim and ticket counter areas.
The bill would counter legislation passed by the General Assembly that would allow gun permit holders to carry weapons in any non-secure areas of a Georgia airport — including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest. The Georgia legislation is awaiting Gov. Sonny Perdue’s signature.
“In the post-9/11 world, it simply defies common sense that it would be legal to carry a gun into an airport,” Lautenberg said in a statement. “Our airports face threats every day, and allowing someone to walk into a major airport with a loaded gun is a recipe for disaster.”
On Thursday, Keefe chased down U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). “We … start to try to pass acts to contravene state laws, that’s something you have to be concerned with, ” Isakson said. “But I’ll have to look at it.”
But before you get your holsters in a wad, think about the gun lobby’s continued clout in Washington – two years into an Obama administration. This from CNN’s Carol Costello’s blog this morning:
The National Rifle Association is expecting a record crowd of 70,000 at its annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, this weekend. There, it will outline its goals for the future: up its membership to five million, launch a get out and vote campaign, and continue promoting Second Amendment Rights.
As the NRA celebrates a very good year, there are some who say the gun rights lobby has never been stronger. According to rocker and NRA board member Ted Nugent, the NRA has anti-gunners on the run – with President Obama leading the pack.
“He’s scared,” Nugent says. “We know that President Obama is against the NRA, but he’s not going to speak about that, because it would be political suicide, like for those who have stood up in the past.”
Some gun control advocates feel betrayed that Mr. Obama isn’t fighting harder for gun control. He’s even signed bills that allow guns in national parks and on Amtrak trains – bills the NRA loves. Some agree with Nugent that politicians may be ducking the issue.
In other words, you have to wonder whether Lautenberg will be getting a cut from NRA fund-raising letters.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele will be the featured speaker at grassroots event tonight for the Georgia Republican Party’s 2010 Republican Round Up, which features training for GOP activists and candidates heading into a busy election year.
The event’s at the Cobb Galleria.
Simply because the New York Times this week declared him to be a “barometer of the conservative movement,” we need to pay attention to the fact that – on PeachPundit – the mercurial Erick Erickson is wondering aloud whether he should abandon Republican incumbent Kathy Cox in the race for state school superintendent and support the Libertarian candidate instead.
Republican candidate for governor Jeff Chapman of Brunswick has named Joe Dendy, who headed Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign in Georgia, as his campaign manager. Says Dendy, speaking in objective fashion about the fellow signing his new paychecks: “Now I have found a man whose honesty and integrity inspires me just as much as both Reagan and Huckabee.”
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35 comments Add your comment
Steve
May 14th, 2010
9:26 am
I think you’ll find people all over the state who would say the same thing about Jeff Chapman without signed paychecks… I haven’t found anyone who can honestly say something bad about the man
goox-and take handel with you...
May 14th, 2010
9:32 am
Really, Steve? I thought Chapman was a one-trick-pony, trying to hurt Eric Johnson for supporting revitalization of Jekyll Island. He is wasting his (and our) time.
Disavantaged Insider
May 14th, 2010
9:52 am
Lautenberg implies that Southerners have no common sense. That lout! Of course what are the chances that a law-abiding, permit-holding, gun-totin’ citizen would be a terrorist? Of course, the odds might be higher is someplace like New Jersey.
Disavantaged Insider
May 14th, 2010
9:53 am
Of course I say of course too much. Sorry about that, of course.
EJ
May 14th, 2010
10:21 am
Let’s consider disasters waiting to happen (guns in airports) vs. disasters that actually happen(guns stolen from vehicles).
Does anyone want to discuss which occurs most frequently? No reason to discuss it since you already know the answer, right?
Stoney
May 14th, 2010
10:27 am
read the law, you cant walk around the airport with a gun on your hip. But you can have one in the parking lot, at the pick up drop off, and the common area. No one with a gun is going to get near a plane.
Morrus
May 14th, 2010
10:36 am
Curiously, in a supposed anti-incumbent year, most of the departing are not retiring but seeking higher office. We may recycle more than we replace. The bad news is that a frustrating 114 seats still have but one contestant. Two of them aren’t even incumbents, meaning they will affect state policy without being vetted by voters. And I have to think that we’d be better off if many had run instead for the Legislature — and cut down on the number running unopposed. Georgia’s problems are numerous. They aren’t going away. There’s too much stale thinking at the Capitol, on both sides of the aisle. New voices would be welcome.
Junior Samples
May 14th, 2010
10:38 am
Except for the US citizen caught with gun(s) in Cairo from a NY flight.
Just sayin… It’s not like our screeners are better than anyone else’s.
Byron Mathison Kerr
May 14th, 2010
10:44 am
Writing as a native Georgian, I am glad to see some federal attention given to this new state law allowing guns at the airport. The 9-11 incident proved that airport security problems in one state, Massachusetts, can have dire consequences for another state, New York (as well as Washington, D.C.).
Opus X
May 14th, 2010
10:45 am
Junior- it’s not illegal to fly with a (properly stored and declared) gun in your luggage. People do it every day- even through Hartsfield. The US citizen in Cairo should have known the local law before he took his gun. There was nothing for US screeners to catch.
RIGHTISWRONG
May 14th, 2010
10:52 am
You guys are unbelieveable! I have a ton of weapons myself and will defend my property and my family if necessary. But NO ONE except the LAW ENFORCEMENT should be allowed to carry in an airport PERIOD! I fully agree with Lautenberg. It does defy common sense, but so does spending millions on a fish tournament, road, and other pet projects in rural Georgia and cutting the education budget. Hmmmm. Sounds pretty dumb to me! But no one said the GA RIGHT WING has smart leadership, or any common sense. It is obvious that they don’t. Sonny is out for himself, the rest of the RIGHT is busy being racist and preparing for the race war that they continue to project to anyone that looks like them. They scare people into thinking that they better carry all the time to protect themselves against EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY.
DISADVANTAGED INSIDER, there are plenty of permit holding southern crazy people that just need one reason to go off and kill a bunch of innocent folks. If you are in the airport and some terrorist or insane person starts shooting, believe me the last thing that you want to do is pull your own weapon. APD has hundreds of officers assigned FULLTIME to the airport, so if you don’t have on a blue uniform with a badge or can produce a badge and be recognized as LAW ENFORCEMENT, pulling that weapon at that time might prove to be your last DUMB MOVE! If I am in LAW ENFORCEMENT, I probably shoot you! It’s just a bad place to carry PERIOD! It just does not make much sense.
Lastly, you idiots want to be able to carry in a bar and in churches too? Great, let’s let drunks make the decision on pulling their weapons, they will make the right choice because they are “law-abiding, permit-holding, gun-totin’ citizens” right? WRONG! Do the research and you will find that it only takes a couple of drinks to impair someone’s decision-making abilities. That’s why you shouldn’t drink and drive and that’s why bars have bouncers for idiots who drink too much and want to fight or cause some disturbance. You guys can read and you have eyes and yet you believe that there will not be multiple shootings that are a result of this idiotic law? If you believe that, you are about as pathetic as Sonny. BTW, who the hell are you gonna shoot in church? The preacher?
Keep the guns in your car, in your house, or carry in private areas, not in public. Leave the public areas to be policed by the POLICE. And remember, non-whites are now starting to arm themselves legally as well, and some of us shoot really well. We will be ready for your nonsense too.
Go ROY!!!!
Paddy O
May 14th, 2010
11:00 am
Lautenberg – may god call you home. Also, our federalism history would actually be an interesting exercise in in the 10th amendment, if this was actually passed.
Independent Voter
May 14th, 2010
11:01 am
Let’s get one thing straight regarding Eric Johnson’s “support for Jekyll Island’s ’revitalization’” – the revitalization partnering agreement that he publicly endorsed would have enriched his campaign finance manager, Jamie Reynolds, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars at the public’s expense and was patently in violation of the gratuity clause in Georgia’s Constitution. The JIA, the Reynolds clan, and their supporters at the top of the Republican Party knew they were treading on thin legal ice but pushed ahead with the deal anyway until Jeff Chapman’s November 2009 AJC editorial exposed it. With the public on to the Jekyll giveaway, and with the AJC printing letters to the editor day after day, the possibility of court action against the JIA loomed on the horizon. The deal then soured and was cancelled just two weeks later, reportedly because of Linger Longer’s inability to adhere to the construction schedule required by the JIA. That’s like saying the deal fell through because the Reynolds/Johnson crew decided they “needed to spend more time with family.”
The point here is that Johnson, who claims to be “Mr. Ethics,” was an active, ex officio member of the Jekyll Island Authority board at the time when the sweetheart deal with the Reynolds family was negotiated. He backed the deal, and he helped arrange for $50 million in public money to secure it. As I see things, Johnson turned his back on the people of Georgia by selling out one of our state’s premier natural assets to the man who has raised over a million dollars for his gubernatorial campaign, and has thus forfeited his claim on public trust and fiscal responsibility as well.
In the end, Jeff Chapman tried to do right by Jekyll Island State Park, even at the expense of alienating the power brokers within the Republican Party. Eric Johnson used Jekyll’s need for a makeover to his own advantage. Enriched with contributions garnered through Reynolds, Johnson is now hoping to buy his way into the Governor’s office. Chapman will have to earn that position the old-fashioned way, through honest campaigning and hard work.
Jekyll Island may seem like a minor issue these days, but the political favoritism, backroom deals, conflicts of interest, corporate welfare, fiscal irresponsibility, disregard for the public interest, and more, that are all evident in the Jekyll land deal make this sorry story a microcosm of what’s wrong with Georgia politics today.
Opus X
May 14th, 2010
11:01 am
RIGHTISWRONG- nice rant. Lots of emotion but short on logic. Do you really think your right to defend yourself ends when you leave the house? If you want to make that decision for yourself, fine, but I will make my own decision.
By the way, you do know that there are numerous other states that already allow carry into non-secured areas of the airport, without incident, right?
My decision to protect myself has nothing to do with racism. You brought it up. Quit projecting.
Paddy O
May 14th, 2010
11:02 am
rightiswrong – looks like a republican fear mongerer. but, if a law abiding citizen conceal carries into the waiting area of Hartsfield, who is the victim here?
Robert Polson
May 14th, 2010
11:10 am
For those stating that people have been bringing guns without incident, please check your facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesham_Mohamed_Hadayet
And if you read the legislation, you will see it still allows people to carry their unloaded gun in their checked baggage per current federal regulations.
Matt
May 14th, 2010
11:11 am
RIGHTISWRONG— Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Opus X
May 14th, 2010
11:17 am
Robert- maybe we should just make murder illegal. Do you think a gun law is going to stop a criminal intent on doing harm? This law is for the law-abiding.
Paddy O
May 14th, 2010
11:32 am
I would vote for Jeff Chapman if he received the nomination. He seems like a decent guy.
Anonymous
May 14th, 2010
11:47 am
[...] to the AJC, Lautenberg said, “Our airports face threats every day and allowing someone to walk into a [...]
J. Fulcher
May 14th, 2010
11:49 am
Eric Johnson’s “support” for Jekyll Island’s so-called revitalization was in fact support for his campaign finance manager, Jamie Reynolds. This “sweetheart deal”represented hundreds of millions of dollars at the public’s expense.
The JIA and the Reynolds clan and their supporters at the top of the Republican Party knew they were treading on thin ice but pushed ahead with the deal anyway until Jeff Chapman’s November 2009 AJC editorial exposed it.
Hurrah for Jeff Chapman and the AJC exposing the Jekyll giveaway.
Voters should know about Eric Johnson’s giveaway and recognize that Jeff Chapman is the only candidate taxpayers can count on to do what is right.
North Georgia Voter
May 14th, 2010
11:56 am
I thought that Jeff Chapman fellow had dropped out of the race.
n
May 14th, 2010
12:02 pm
Jeff Chapman has more than words to prove his integrity. He is the only Republican I know of with the guts to stand up to the Republican leadership as they tried to steamroll the give-away of Jekyll Island State Park to Linger Longer, a company owned by George Bush’s campaign financier and Eric Johnson’s current campaign finance director. It is “crony capitalism” at it’s very worst. People with money and policitcal connections thinking they can do ANYTHING, including a land grab of unprecedented audacity. I can honestly say I never paid much attention at all to Georgia politics/politicians until I realized what was going on with Jekyll Island. Yes, it is a microcosm of all that is wrong in Georgia and all that was wrong with the Bush administration. Insiders get rich, the rest of us get fleeced. The country was on it’s way to becoming a total kleptocracy, and that is what was/is happening in Georgia as well. It had gotten to the point where the Republican leadership didn’t even try to disguise it’s corrosive greed and abuse of power. At least the Georgia Democrats in prior administrations had the finesse to try to hide their evil-doing–but not these guys. But Jeff Chapman tried to stop the give-away of Jekyll, and tried to preserve and protect Jekyll Island from the type of runaway development that would have destroyed it’s natural character and beauty and lined the pockets of rich developers. So if you’re looking for someone who has more than big money, endless pandering and empty rhetoric to flaunt, look at Jeff. He has years of courageous deeds documented in the newspapers and public record. When even the Democrats in the legislature or the Dem. leadership lacked the courage to stand up to the Republicans, a Republican did.
Jason
May 14th, 2010
12:12 pm
How am I ever going to get the girl at the ticket counter to honor my frequent flier miles without having a gun? Blackout dates and restrictions are for losers who can’t assert their rights!
J Throckmorton Malcontent
May 14th, 2010
12:41 pm
You can make it legal to carry a gun everywhere doesn’t that make it very polite. Your mothers must have missed that part of your upbringing.
RIGHTISWRONG
May 14th, 2010
12:53 pm
Thanks MATT.
Opus X, I don’t think that defending yourself stops at your house. I am pro carry in your car, or at your buddy’s house, or on your property, or private property. But, when it comes to folks carrying in public areas, I think that is INSANE… Especially the airport, and certainly not bars or churches.
Do you know what a REAL SOLUTION would be? Let’s enforce the DEATH PENALTY. If you take someone’s life in the commission of a FELONY(aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, etc.), then we the people KILL YOU! That means even if you are carrying (legally or illegally) and commit a FELONY you could be put to death. So if you get drunk and shoot and kill Cooter or if you get mad at the preachers sermon and shoot and kill him or the deacon, or if you just decide the guy in front of you cut you off and you want to teach him a lesson and you shoot and kill, your “law-abiding, permit-holding, gun-totin’” behind will be put to death for your lack of sound judgement, PERIOD. The only way that you live is if you can prove that you were defending yourself and acted in SELF DEFENSE. Plus I think that if you shoot someone and don’t kill them but you are not acting in SELF DEFENSE (which in most cases is some type of FELONY, i.e.-assault with a deadly weapon, etc.) then you automatically get 25 years! This would affect good guys and bad guys, but it sure would make folks think twice before just shooting folks. Then you push the NRA to promote NON-LETHAL WEAPONTRY. Advance the technology to that you can stop folks without killing them with some type of ID of origin (similar to that of stun guns with probes currently). The gun folks (Glock, Remmington, Smith and Wesson, Sig Sauer, etc.) would end up with another major market and continue to make tons of money.
The point is, too many people are killed by guns every year. Felon or not, if you shoot and kill someone and you can’t prove that you felt that your life was in danger, you need to face the death penalty. Felon or not, if you shoot and wound someone and you can’t prove again that you felt your life was in danger, you need to face at least 25 years or some other stiff punishment. So if someone breaks into your house, comes up to your car with a weapon, or tries to rob you on the street with a weapon, you should be able to shoot to kill. That would be my response in any of those situations.
But there are too many things that could go wrong with using deadly force in PUBLIC! Too much collateral damage could be done. Don’t you guys get that? Being able to STOP folks, not KILL folks in a PUBLIC area is more humane in my opinion. Too many disagreements, misunderstandings, etc., end up with someone SHOT TO DEATH. So carry a NON-LETHAL WEAPON, lower your ego and tone down your testosterone when in public. Oh yeah, and learn to talk to people that you disagree with in order to find common ground. Or just carry everywhere and hope that you don’t make an emotional mistake that could ruin many lives (including yours) for years to come.
Good day and have a wonderful weekend!!!
Terry Miller
May 14th, 2010
12:58 pm
Like ‘n’ — I had quit paying attention to Georgia politics — in complete disgust with the Republicans. Then Jeff Chapman came along!! An honest man! And courageous in standing up to the GOP bigwigs. I used to campaign hard for Republicans. I thought that once GA became a two-party state, we’d have decent government. I had lost all hope, but JEFF CHAPMAN has revived my hope. Jekyll Island isn’t the only place where he has stood up for the common people of Georgia — it’s just the most visible.
Eric Johnson is a crony of all the big-money developer types. Who does he think is fooled? We need to elect Jeff. Maybe Georgia can get an honest government after all.
Mr. B
May 14th, 2010
1:03 pm
Just remember Jim / Bob,
The fact that you refused to post my commentary in no way discredits it’s content. I have been a CCL holder since the week following the incident on Marta in 1986. Have a great day.
Babs McDonald
May 14th, 2010
1:05 pm
I recently completed a book about the Jekyll Island battle that will be published this summer. Through interviews, newspaper accounts, internet research, and Georgia Open Records requests, the book documents the story of how public land (Jekyll Island State Park) was almost handed over to a wealthy developer at public expense. One of the bright spots of this story is the courage and tenacity of Senator Chapman. The records show that Senator Chapman stood against his own party leaders on behalf of what be believed the citizens of Georgia wanted, or to be more accurate, did not want. These events occurred long before the governor’s race began. Furthermore, evidence indicates that party leaders supported the Jekyll Island Authority’s efforts to give this developer an unprecedented financial package, at public expense, for development of the state park. Readers will have to judge the evidence for themselves. The Jekyll Island story includes a number of courageous characters committed to doing what they believe to be right in the face of tremendous odds. Senator Chapman is one of them.
Carla Cook Smith
May 15th, 2010
8:44 am
goox — Yours is the first negative comment I have read about Jeff Chapman, and it has been adequately disputed. “Principles above politics” is Senator Chapman’s platform and his words are backed by a sterling track record. Want to know more — see http://www.jeffchapmanforgovernor.com. Truth has a soldier — Jeff Chapman for Governor of Georgia!
Carla Cook Smith
May 15th, 2010
8:53 am
Paddy O — Please forward Jeff Chapman’s website to help ensure he wins the nomination. http://www.jeffchapmanforgovernor.com. This decent guy needs our help to get the word out about his conservative principles and impressive record. Senator Chapman has a proven track record already in conservation and protecting the rights of Georgians. He has a fresh vision for job creation and education as well. People need to be aware that a great candidate is running for governor. By spreading the word, we can bring awareness to the people. Grassroots efforts DO make a difference. Jeff Chapman for a Better Georgia!
Bludgeon & Skewer
May 15th, 2010
6:34 pm
Greetings All,
Things are all a-buzz and a-twitter over here at the Secret Underground Libertarian Command Center on the triple whammy almost endorsements for Libertarian Kira Willis over at Peach Pundit, RedState and here at the mighty, mighty AJC Political Insider. Since it’s a matter of Public Record that Kira is the Libertarian Party of Georgia’s candidate for the State School Superintendent the need to be coy with the readership is rendered moot.
As it happens, you have an opportunity to see what all the ruckus is about as Kira will be having a fundraiser at the Thirsty Dog Tavern at 2110 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 tomorrow. The event starts at 3:00PM and will run until all requirements for politic’n, speechifyin’ and fundraisin’ have been met. The Thirsty Dog is a pet friendly tavern so bring the dogs along for the ride. And bring a Jackson for Kira’s campaign while you’re at it.
At last report, at least two other Libertarian Candidates for Statewide office will be in attendance to support Kira’s run. Libertarian David Chastain, candidate for Secretary of State and Libertarian Shane Bruce, candidate for Insurance Commissioner will be on site to cheer Kira on to victory this Fall.
Vote for Smaller Government, Lower Taxes and More Freedom! Vote for Libertarian Kira Willis for State Superintendent of Schools!
Michael
May 15th, 2010
8:16 pm
I can carry a gun but must leave it in my car. Brilliant. I need it for the gangsters who are waiting at my car in the parking lot when I return. All of them with their guns but no permits. Better arrest them for that.
Fire Eater
May 20th, 2010
5:21 am
The airport is dangerous because it is located in Georgia’s “Zimbabwe”…Atlanta’s funky Southside. A concealed pistol might be the only thing that protects your blonde daughter from rape and murder by the denizens of College Park, East Point, DeKalb or Clayton counties.
Funny how most of the violent crime is on the southside…I wonder why that is? Also, Georgia has gun shows full of semi-automatic weapons and toothless rednecks very weekend yet we hear of no violent crimes occurring at them while the rumor of a “rap video shoot” leaves dead and wounded in its wake.
Lautenberg, Feinstein and Schumer really have a problem with people defending themselves from violent crime.
ET
May 22nd, 2010
10:35 am
This bill is designed to allow citizens like myself who carry a gun for protection to be able to drop off or pick up someone at the airport without finding some bush to hide our gun in before we drive onto the airport grounds. The unsecured area part of the bill was added as the bill went through the process. The thinking was that if you are picking someone up from the airport you might need to step inside to get them. These are areas that aren’t screened for weapons anyway.
Legally armed citizens are not a problem in the U.S. The wackos that you read about with guns are not licensed gun carriers. They have guns illegally. This 18 year old idiot in the news who killed someone while doing a “Gun trick” wasn’t supposed to even have one. You people who are against law abiding citizens carrying guns need to spend your time trying to figure out how to take them away from those idiots…not us. I paid my money and went through a back ground check. They have my finger prints on file. I am trained, I am one of the good guys.