Marietta resident Miguel Mir shows his Georgia Firearms License during a gathering conducted by Georgiacarry.org in 2008.
File photo
File photo
With more than 100 people in attendance, Governor’s Gun Club, a planned gun and archery range, broke ground two weeks ago on the outskirts of Powder Springs at C.H. James Parkway at Sterlingbrooke Drive. Another gun club planned in Kennesaw reportedly remains in early planning stages.
Kristina Brown, who owns Lakeside Guns in Acworth, said her new $3.5 million, 19,100-square-foot gun club in Powder Springs is currently awaiting a state land disturbance permit. Once that is granted, construction will begin immediately and could be completed as early as Christmas, she said.
Brown said about 50 people have signed up for membership, which will begin at approximately $400 per year.
Governor’s Gun Club will feature 16 shooting lanes, a 30-yard indoor archery range, a classroom and an executive members lounge with billards, lockers, televisions and other amenities. The club will also be open to non-members.
Brown said she is also exploring opening a second gun club in the Kennesaw area.
Kennesaw has already been selected as the potential site for a gun club and shooting range by Cara Workman and Robyn Workman Marzullo, who operate the Sandy Springs Gun Club and Range. Since last year, the sisters have been planning to build a facility on Kennesaw Due West Road near Cobb Parkway.
However, the planning process has fallen into limbo, said spokeswoman Mandy Nicholas. She said the project has run into some zoning issues with the city and also that the sisters have spent much of their attention on opening a second business in Norcross.
Meanwhile, Cobb has experienced a surge in concealed weapons permit applications since the shooting rampage in Aurora, Colo. on July 20, which killed 12 people and wounded 58.
“We’ve noticed the surge from when we were doing 25 a day and we’re doing like 50 a day now since the shooting,” said Melinda Carter, supervisor of Cobb Probate Court’s firearms permit division.
Gun permits and sales have also reportedly spiked in other areas of the nation, including Colorado, where gun sale background checks increased by 41 percent after the tragedy, according to the Denver Post. The shooting has raised concerns from gun safety advocates about a need for new gun control laws, but the nation’s political leaders have been largely quiet on the issue.
Even before the Colorado shooting, a nationwide spike in gun sales had been reported. Industry experts and political analysts have noted that a similar spike occurred just before President Barack Obama took office, when some firearm buyers expressed fears that their gun rights would be curtailed.
Additonally, House Bill 89 took effect in July 2008, which expanded places where permit-holders can carry concealed weapons, to include restaurants that serve alcohol, on public transportation and in state parks.
Since 2008, permit applications in Cobb have increased annually from between 2,500 and 3,000 to between 5,000 and 8,000, said Carter.
In Georgia, adults age 21 or older do not need a license to own a gun, unless it is a concealed weapon carried outside one’s home, automobile or place of business, subject to certain restrictions.
In that case, a permit, or weapons carry license, is issued by a county probate court after proof of residency, fingerprinting, and state and federal criminal background checks have been successfully completed. A $72.25 application fee for the license, valid for five years, is required in Cobb.
There are four gun shows scheduled between now and January at the Cobb Civic Center, including two Eastman Gun Shows, which reported an overall record attendance at its traveling shows in 2011, according to its website.
Brown said she has noticed an increase in interest in guns from customers at her Acworth gun shop on Cobb Parkway, as well as a major increase in National Rifle Association membership.
“I just think more people are standing behind the Georgia carry (law) and Second Amendment – that’s what a lot of them are stating to me,” she said.
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I have a couple guns to protect my home, but unless all heck breaks loose there is no reason to carry guns everywhere I go. And stop whining about Obama taking your guns away because if you check out the stats on the purchases of guns you'll see more guns have been purchased during his term than any other time in history. You sheep are being fooled by the NRA to buy more guns. Check your facts and use your brains...not your guns.
If you cannot or are not willing to do this then you do not need to carry a weapon. Let alone use one.
I carry a weapon on my hip any time I leave my property and will continue to do so.
Just maybe if the nut in Co. saw a few armed people he may have decided to go home and rethink his plan.
Just becuase you don't want to take your guns out of your hme does not make it uncumbent on everyone else to follow your lead.
You do your thing and I will do mine,.
This is not meant to be trite or snarky, but the "arsenal" did not kill. James Holmes, the individual, was responsible.
In your heart of hearts, do you sincerely believe that gun control laws will prevent the unsavory folks from obtaining weapons?
Do you believe that law enforcement is capable of protecting every citizen 24/7? If not, then, in your mind, what are our options for self preservation?
A serious and civil discussion, please. No sniping.
I agree wholeheartedly with your post
However,
I think your use of the word "sniping" in the last sentence of your post was either an unfortunate oversight or a deliberate attempt to neutralize your request for a serious and civil discussion on this issue.
I am still trying to make up my mind about your intentions.
You are correct. A very poor choice of words on my part. You have no reason to believe me, but it was unintentional. If I could delete that I would.
I was just messing with you.
I assumed it was unintentional, but being kind of a wise guy I couldn't resist busting you chops a little.
As far as having a serious and civil discussion.
That becomes awfully difficult when people on the other side of the issue are so entrenched in their opinions and so overly emotional that they are not willing to even listen to or accept well documented facts that make mince meat out of their position on this issue.
The continuing attacks on our basic constitutional rights (not just gun rights) from the ultra liberal left is so distasteful to me I have a difficult time maintaining civil discourse on those issues.
Just one of my many minor personality flaws.
But, you and I are on the same wavelength. "Distasteful" is mild. Sometimes I think my head is going to explode!
Have a good'un!
You are saying, buy guns to protect yourself from others who have guns.
The government has failed in keeping firearms out of the hands of those who would do harm.
I will repeat my self just for you. The second amendment was not written to make murder more efficient.
If you are a safety conscious, legal gun owner, why are you so opposed to very strict gun control laws which would keep people from committing mass murder?
Early American history has very little relevance to today's gun violence. It is you who should read and more importantly understand and absorb early American history. You must be a product of the third rate GA public school system. If not, then you didn't pay attention.
There is nothing the government can do to ban the illegal purchase of guns.
By its very nature illegal gun sales ignore the laws in place no matter how strict or well enforced.
Just look at the jurisdictions with the most strict gun laws (i.e. New York, District of Columbia, Chicago, etc.).
Their violent crime rates and murder rates are the worst in the entire country. And most are committed using illegally obtained weapons.
That is the very legitimate concern of gun rights advocates.
It is commonly referred to as the "slippery slope"
The oft quoted "If guns are outlawed then only outlaws will have guns" is certainly cliche' but unfortunately is a very accurate statement that is easily substantiated by unfortunate experience and overwhelming statistical evidence..
All you have to do is look at the evidence.
Someone like this Holmes guy in Aurora, who is intent on doing harm to others, is not going to be dissuaded by strict gun laws.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
As usual the big picture escapes the shortsighted....
Your energies would be better served in dealing with violence in the media, which has trivialized certain acts and glorified/sanction others, which I find much more dangerous to a civil society. But I guess blaming an inanimate object or restricting freedoms is easier than dealing with the harder underlying societal causes. Isn't it funny how certain types scream freedom of the press or expression but don't take responsibility for that expression which is profane, blasphemous, violent, perverse but has lasting negative effects on mind and heart.
You stated "The common argument...is, "If only there had been an armed citizen..."
The funny thing is, that is undeniably true.
When a government permits its citizens to amass an aresenal, then that government has lost sight of its purpose.
I can now see the gun crazies lining up to quote the second amendment. The second amendment was not written to make murder more efficient. The second amendment is not a cloak of righteousness that the gun nuts can wrap themselves up in.
When you're in a public place and you're attacked by a Thug please openly state your objection to concealed weapons so that I don't risk my life trying to save your Liberal Carcass.
For many gun owners self defense is a secondary consideration.
That being said
I am sure that the recent surge in gun sales is a knee jerk reaction to the Aurora tragedy, but I for one will not depend on anyone but myself to defend my loved ones.
Not my neighbor, not the cops, not a passer by, not a stranger.
Remember this, the cops only show up after an incident has occurred and the damage or harm has already been done.
In my opinion it is my primary RESPONSIBILTY to protect my family from harm.
Those who purchase guns legally and register for the appropriate permits are not the ones you need to fear.
Most, certainly not all (i.e. Aurora), crimes committed using a gun are committed by individuals who have obtained that weapon illegally.
Couple of things. First, as a licensed gun owner, if I would have been in that theater, I do not know that I would have attempted to shoot the suspect. Why? What happens when a movie starts? They turn off the lights. While I am a gun owner, I am a responsible gun owner and I would not endanger others by attempting to take a shot in a darkened theater. If I would have missed and shot an unarmed civilian, then I would have been the one who would be standing in court.
The second is a question. While you are harping on modification to laws that infringe upon my 2nd Ammendment rights, what is your stance on things that really are not covered by the Constitution, such as drunk drivers, tobacco companies, illegal drugs, illegal immigrants (and I mean illegal immigrants, not undocumented workers). Or do you believe we should transform ourselves into an Orwelian society such as 1984?