A gun-rights organization called GeorgiaCarry has lost their suit against Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. A recently passed state law allows licensed gun owners to carry their weapons on public transportation. The group went into court claiming that airports are “public transportation” areas as defined in the law.
GeorgiaCarry did not want the right to carry guns on airplanes. They simply wanted to be able to carry in non-secure parts of the airport like parking lots, baggage claim areas, and any other space that can be accessed without passing through airport security checkpoints.
Georgia Republican Governor Sonny Perdue claimed that his wife might want to pack heat as she walked from the parking lot to the terminal. (It was not clear why she would need to walk from the parking lot instead of being dropped off curbside in the governor’s limo).
Fortunately, there is no need to don your Kevlar vest if you are flying into or out of Hartsfield-Jackson. A district judge shot down GeorgiaCarry’s case, saying that allowing firearms inside airport grounds would be a significant risk to public safety.
Some state politicians and gun-rights groups vow to continue to press forward.