James Camp: My viewpoint on Mayors for Gun Safety -

Camp is co-founder and member of the board of directors for Georgia 2nd Amendment (GA2A), formally known as GeorgiaCarry.org (GCO) “Camp” q W Camper Campground

I would like to take the opportunity to address the Mayors for Gun
Safety petition that Mayor Betty Cason signed back on September 1st
demanding that the Governor and the Legislature “act to reduce gun
violence in the communities we serve”. The petition then goes on to list
5 bullet points that the collective mayors want addressed.

The 1st point in regards to behavioral health, I think most of us can
agree that folks that have been adjudicated mentally unstable shouldn’t
have access to firearms until such time their condition has been
resolved. Most, if not all mass shooters, had some sort of mental health
condition that “set them off”. But the issue here isn’t more laws. There
are already enough laws to address this issue. The issue here is
reporting of government agencies to one another so the right information
gets relayed. Point in fact, in 2008 when Mayor Cason was serving as
Carroll County Probate Judge, she had one, John Russell Houser,
involuntarily committed to West Central Regional Hospital in Columbus.
That alone would have disqualified Mr. Houser from legally acquiring a
firearm. But yet, 6 years later, Houser was able to enter a gun shop in
Alabama and purchase a firearm that he would later use to shoot 11
people and kill himself at a movie theater in Louisiana. When
individuals are involuntarily committed or otherwise adjudicated
mentally defective, the judge in that case is required to file a report
with GCIC, which in turn, shares that information with the FBI’s NICS
system that is used for background checks for firearms purchases and for
prospective applicants of the state’s weapons carry license.

So the bigger question here is why did Cason neglect her duties as
probate judge at that time and not report that information? Surely a
mass shooting could have been prevented under her watch as probate
judge. The failure of “inter-governmental agency communication” is not
just a one off in this situation. it happens far too often where the
government drops the ball and doesn’t effectively enforce the laws they
are tasked with enforcing and instead want to push for more laws to
compensate for their incompetence.

The 2nd point calls for a “level playing field for background checks
that includes all purchases or transfers.” This is the so-called ‘Gun
show loophole” that anti’s have been adamant for, for years. What they
fail to tell you is that most dealers at gun shows are FFL’s (Federal
Firearms License holders) and they are required to perform the same
background checks that all guns stores must adhere to. What the anti-gun
establishment isn’t telling you is that they want to put a stop to
family members gifting firearms to another and they fail to mention that
private transfers also must adhere to laws as well and that a private
seller cannot sell or transfer a firearm to a prohibited person. While
there are private sellers at gun shows, they are few and far between and
you can bet that the ATF is at most guns shows, undercover most times,
making sure that no prohibited transfers are taking place.

And allow me to directly address the claim that Georgia has become the
top exporter of “illegal” weapons. All 50 states follow federal gun laws
for sales. Guns move from GA not because laws, but because anti-gun laws
make them far more valuable in the black market.

The 3rd point really goes back to the 1st point in that there are
already laws on the books to stop transfers to prohibited person. FBI
background checks have proven to be an efficient system to dramatically
decrease criminal gun violence. Even the Brady Center to Prevent Gun
Violence contends that with the passage of their “Brady Bill” in 1993
that it has stopped approximately 4 million transfers to prohibited
persons. The incompetency of some governmental agencies is what prevents
these laws from being effectively enforced. Anyone remember Operation
“fast and furious”? Big oops on the ATF.

Let’s call the 4th point for what it is.. They want to ban firearms that
can fire more than one shot without manual reloading (think Semi-autos,
Lever actions, Pump actions, ect) and standard capacity magazines. If
the anti-gun establishment is legitimately concerned with just banning
so-called “weapons of mass destruction” and not “traditional” firearms,
then why can’t they define “rapid fire action” in such a way that
doesn’t include semi automatic, which makes up 90% of the guns today
including grandaddy’s bird gun?

On the 5th point, with safe storage, in the crimes were the shooter
“fell through the cracks” (read inter governmental incompetency) and
obtained their firearm through legal means, the other half stole their
firearms. Why are we in such a mad rush to punish the VICTIMS of crimes.
Yes, a person that had their gun stolen is a VICTIM of a crime, not a
criminal. In true neglect cases where some nitwit left their firearm out
for anyone to have access to, say on their nightstand, kitchen counter,
in a public restroom, or on the hood of their car, then yes, there are
already criminal negligence laws on the books to charge these folks
with.

Lastly, the modern day pro 2A movement started here in West Georgia,
point in fact and coincidentally it was right here in Carroll County
with Betty Cason as Probate Judge. I sued Judge Cason in 2006 because
she refused to process my application for a Georgia Carry License (at
the time it was called a Georgia Firearm License) because she demanded I
provide my SSN and place of employment, both of which were flagrant
violations of the U.S. Privacy Act and the 2nd Amendment because she was
infringing on my right to carry by not issuing me a license. (See Camp
v. Cason 06-01586-CV-CAP-1) I won and Judge Cason had to issue my
license and pay over $50k in legals fees that came out of the county’s
general fund because their insurance wouldn’t cover this type of
lawsuit. That’s $50k that Carroll County Tax Payers were directly on the
hook for because as judge, Ms. Cason abused her power to deny me my
rights all because she thought that “She was right and I was wrong”.
This isn’t an endorsement of any candidate and it boggles me that Mayor
Cason would make a swipe at the 2nd Amendment knowing full well how the
good citizens of Carroll County feel about their 2A rights, especially
since she is asking those same citizens to continue entrusting her in a
position of power. Carrollton Citizens will need to ask themselves do
they want to re-elect and continue to keep a person in power with a
history of flagrant civil right violations and not being a good steward
of taxpayers’ money by being a party to lawsuits that violate
constitutionally protected rights. Its clear from Mayor Cason’s
endorsement of this petition that she intends to keep doing so.