Judges, Officials Want Gun Law Cleanup | Daily Report

Probate judges and county officials are hoping for tweaks in state gun laws in the upcoming legislative session that would clear up what they describe as ambiguities and contradictions.

But the lawmaker who sponsored last session’s bill—House Bill 60—that relaxed many carry and licensing restrictions said he and other proponents aren’t keen to tinker with the code.

Athens-Clarke County Probate Judge Susan Tate said she and her colleagues on the bench are flummoxed by a change in statute dealing with gun license renewals. HB 60 eliminated the fingerprinting requirement for application renewals in one section of the code but not in another.

Tate said she and other probate judges believe the reference to a fingerprinting requirement still in the code was an editing mistake.

“It’s clear that it’s language left over from the previous law and likely overlooked when some of [the changes] were made,” she said. “So, we as probate judges have decided we will not comply with it, but it makes us nervous.”

Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, who shepherded the lengthy bill through the General Assembly last session, said lawmakers will continue to listen to various groups on all sides. But he doesn’t think the state Legislature should move quickly on any possible legislation to tweak existing gun laws, especially if it would move the needle toward more restrictions on carry.

via Judges, Officials Want Gun Law Cleanup | Daily Report.