Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Tuesday signed into law a measure allowing Georgians to conceal and carry a handgun without a permit.
The contentious new law, dubbed the Georgia Constitutional Carry Act, cleared the state legislature at the beginning of the month along party lines. Georgia follows Alabama as the second state this year to enact a permitless carry law for handguns, but about 20 states have similar measures.
The law allows Georgians — with the exception of a felon or person involved with mental health treatment in the past five years — to conceal and carry a handgun anywhere a licensed permit holder can.
During the signing ceremony on Tuesday, Georgia state Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R) said, “Today was a victory for the safety, security and constitutional rights of hardworking Georgians.”
“This bill is about self-protection and self-empowerment,” Anavitarte, who sponsored the bill in the state Senate, said. “It’s about disincentivizing criminals and empowering law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and their families.”
Georgia Democrats held a rally on Tuesday in opposition to the bill, which they said puts Georgians in danger amid an ongoing surge in mass shootings across the country — including a shooting that injured at least 23 people in a New York City subway the same day the law was passed.
State Democrats in Georgia pointed The Hill to a January Atlanta-Journal Constitution poll showing 70 percent of Georgians opposed the legislation, while 28 percent supported it.
The state Democratic Party urged Georgians to hold Kemp responsible in the gubernatorial election.
“We refuse to accept a Georgia where it’s easier for criminals to carry guns but hard for many Georgians to get health care,” Georgia Democrats tweeted. “We must change our leadership in November and defeat Brian Kemp.”
If he wins the Republican primary, Kemp will likely face Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams in the midterm election. On Tuesday, she tweeted that Kemp “knows states that pass #criminalcarry see increases in gun violence.”
“He knows Georgians (Democrats, independents, and Republicans) oppose the bill,” Abrams tweeted.
During Tuesday’s signing ceremony, Kemp said that under the new law, individuals authorized to carry in another state are now allowed to carry in Georgia without a permit.
The governor said the protections were safeguards against crime and lawlessness, which “we are not going to have that here in our state.”
“Law-abiding Georgians, including our daughters and your family too, can protect themselves without having to have protection from your state government, ” he said. “The Constitution of the United States gives us that right, not the government.”
–Updated on April 13 at 10:36 a.m.