Senate advances permitless carry, backed by Kemp and gun groups

The bill that advanced in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday would do away with the need for a license to carry a handgun in public — either openly or concealed on one’s body. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

A bill to end the state requirement for gun carry licenses in Georgia is moving forward. On Tuesday, a Senate committee advanced the legislation, which supporters call “constitutional carry.”

Among the measure’s promoters are groups of out-of-state gun rights activists featured in the Pulitzer Prize-winning NPR investigative podcast “No Compromise.” These groups raise money across the country promoting absolutist gun laws and targeting Republican lawmakers who don’t support their efforts. 

Gov. Brian Kemp is one of the scores of Republican state leaders who for years have been pressed to support policies like constitutional carry, which make concealed carry permits optional. While remaining mostly quiet on the measure during his time in office, Kemp gave a press conference early this year urging the state legislature to draft a bill. The announcement came a month after former U.S. Sen. David Perdue officially announced he would challenge Kemp in the 2022 governor’s race.