Georgia Legalizes Handgun Vending Machines

Come on, admit it.  Nothing like easy access to firearms, right?

In a ceremony today in Atlanta, Gov. Nathan Deal signed the Firearms Freedom and Accessibility Act (FFAA), which allows the sale of handguns in automated machines that accept cash, credit and debit cards.

The machines will be installed in grocery stores, convenience stores, bars, schools, airports and gas stations. They aren’t required to verify buyers’ identity and won’t perform background checks.

“Millions of people in Georgia lack access to quality firearms,” the governor said in a signing statement. “This bill will finally bring handguns from top manufacturers into every neighborhood and hopefully every household.

“By helping more Georgians to defend themselves, we expect this bill to lower crime significantly. By the end of my second term murder, rape and armed robbery should be nearly eradicated.”

The legislation comes just months after Georgia significantly loosened its gun laws. In April, Deal signed a so-called “guns everywhere” law which allowed registered gun owners to take their weapons nearly anywhere, including bars and government buildings.

BTW, I do know this is satire, but it's the can gun loons get any crazier than satire thing.  I know it's really hard to tell whether gunloons are crazy or engaging in self-parody.

Georgia Man's Stand Your Ground Defense Failed - Guilty of Aggravated Assault

Local news reports

A man accused of shooting his girlfriend’s brother last month was not acting in self-defense, a Henry County magistrate judge ruled Tuesday morning.

Marquez Marquis Bridges, 23, was charged with aggravated assault and reckless conduct in the April 26 shooting of Kirby Bullard during a birthday party in McDonough.

Bullard was shot once in the leg after confronting Bridges about his relationship with Bullard’s sister, said Henry County police Detective Joey Plemons during a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Henry County Magistrate Court.

Plemons said Bullard slapped Bridges in the back of the head with an open hand, and the two argued. Bridges left the room to get a gun and returned to shoot the unarmed Bullard in the leg, he said.

Bridges’ attorney argued that his client’s smaller stature made him fearful of the larger Bullard. Jail records show Bridges to be 5 feet tall and weighing 115 pounds.

Henry County Chief Magistrate Judge Robert Godwin disagreed.

“I don’t know anything in the law that allows aggravated assault in response to a simple battery,” he said. “Being height-challenged myself, I see where you’re going, but I don’t see it.”

The defense attorney then argued that Bridges was defending either himself or his girlfriend and invoked the “stand your ground” law. But prosecutor Bill McBroom disagreed.

“‘Stand your ground’ doesn’t say you have to retreat, but it doesn’t say you can escalate to deadly force and use that as an excuse to kill somebody,” he said.

Poll: Georgia Voters Disapprove of New Gun Law

PBS reports

A new poll shows Georgia voters disapprove of the state’s new gun law, despite being more likely to own guns or believing gun ownership helps protect people.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents gave HB 60, or the Safe Carry Protection Act, a thumbs down, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted by SRBI of New York. The bill will allow licensed gun owners to carry firearms in many churches, bars, and government buildings. It will also allow military men and women age 18 and older permission to obtain a license to carry a firearm. Under current law, applicants must be at least 21 years old to be granted a gun permit.

Fifty-seven percent of Georgia voters said they believe owning a gun helps protect people from crime. A majority of the people polled — 55 percent — say they or someone they live with owns a gun. Only 35 percent said gun ownership puts people’s safety at risk.

The law goes into effect July 1.

The poll surveyed 1,012 adults statewide between May 5 and May 8.