New gun law sets stage for airport showdown

**min0 lee** · 06-30-2008, 11:46 PM

I wonder how this will play out.

I am just posting this story, I'm not taking sides.

New gun law sets stage for airport showdown | ajc.com

By JIM THARPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/01/08
You could call it the Atlanta version of "High Noon."
Top city officials will announce Tuesday that despite a new state gun law that went into effect at midnight, they will have anyone carrying a weapon at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport arrested. The state lawmaker who sponsored the new gun law says if they do, the city will immediately be sued. And state Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) said the plaintiff in the lawsuit could be himself.

"I have a permit, and I have family I have to pick up at the airport tomorrow [Tuesday]," Bearden told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. "I'll have one [a concealed weapon] with me at all times."
Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta said if Bearden shows up at the world's busiest airport with a gun, he'll be busted.
"I can identify him, and I'll have him arrested," DeCosta said Monday. "We're not fooling around. This is a post-terrorism environment."
The new law, which Bearden sponsored, permits licensed gun owners to carry concealed firearms in parks, on public transportation and in restaurants that serve liquor. The law takes effect Tuesday.
Firearms proponents hailed the law as a victory for the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They say law-abiding citizens with the appropriate permits should be allowed to carry firearms in formerly forbidden areas for self-protection.
Before the new law was passed, Georgia law banned guns from venues like public transportation and restaurants serving alcohol. More than 40 other states permit guns on public transportation, Bearden said, and 37 allow permit holders to carry weapons into restaurants.
"I was in law enforcement for 15 years," Bearden said as the bill awaited the governor's signature two months ago. "I never rode up on a shooting in progress. I don't like the idea of the police telling you, 'Get mugged, get raped, get murdered. We'll come by, take the report, or send flowers.' That's the wrong message."
Opponents, however, blasted the proposal, saying it has the potential to spark more violence than it stops. DeCosta wrote to Gov. Sonny Perdue asking him to veto the bill, and Mayor Shirley Franklin and MARTA officials publicly lambasted the idea. MARTA bus drivers gathered more than 1,000 signatures on petitions demanding bulletproof shields.
Federal law already bans guns past the security checkpoints at U.S. airports. The new state law, however, apparently would permit guns to be carried on the non-secure side of Hartsfield-Jackson by people who have gone through a background check and have been certified to carry a weapon. Licensed gun owners would be permitted to carry weapons on public transportation coming into the airport, its lobby and in restaurants outside the security checkpoints.
DeCosta said he will use the first day the new law takes effect to declare Hartsfield-Jackson a "gun-free" zone.
"We're going to make it clear that the law does not make any allowance for guns at the airport," DeCosta said. "Guns are not appropriate for any airport in Georgia."
He and Franklin plan a 10 a.m. news conference to discuss the new gun law.
Bearden said the new law clearly permits guns in some areas of the airport.
"They are not appropriate once you go past security," he said. "But in parking lots or restaurants or public transportation, they are OK."
The state lawmaker said the city does not have the authority to defy a state law, and if they make arrests they will end up in court.
DeCosta said city officials will not back down from their position on the new law and again vowed to have Bearden or anyone else carrying a gun on airport property arrested.
"He can then have all the NRA [National Rifle Association] lawyers say why it's OK for him to bring a gun to the airport," DeCosta said.
MARTA, meanwhile, released a statement late Monday noting that state law prohibits firearms on public transit unless the carrier has a valid license to carry a gun.
"This license must be carried at any time that an individual is carrying a firearm on MARTA," the statement said.

**luisfigo_benfic** · 07-01-2008, 12:31 AM

This should be a nice clusterfuck!! I love how DHS and other agencies continue to use the "post 9/11 war on terror" excuse to continually violate, degrade, and destroy Civil liberties, Federal law, and Constitutional rights.

**danzik17** · 07-01-2008, 05:52 AM

Well, I guess it all depends on whether or not the airports are considered public property. If they're the private property of the airlines, then it is their right to make whatever rules they want on those grounds. If the people don't like it, they have the freedom not to go to the airport.

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 06:06 AM

Originally Posted by danzik17

Well, I guess it all depends on whether or not the airports are considered public property. If they're the private property of the airlines, then it is their right to make whatever rules they want on those grounds. If the people don't like it, they have the freedom not to go to the airport.

I think it's on Federal property.
Federal beats the State beats the City.

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 06:07 AM

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 06:14 AM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Federal law already bans guns past the security checkpoints at U.S. airports. The new state law, however, apparently would permit guns to be carried on the non-secure side of Hartsfield-Jackson by people who have gone through a background check and have been certified to carry a weapon. Licensed gun owners would be permitted to carry weapons on public transportation coming into the airport, its lobby and in restaurants outside the security checkpoints.

**maniclion** · 07-01-2008, 01:03 PM

Man I want to be there playing this music loud on a boombox!!!!

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 01:25 PM

Nice!!
Love that tune!

**bio-chem** · 07-01-2008, 02:04 PM

seems like a pretty cut and clear case to me. what seems to be the issue? if it is before a security check point and the gun being carried is properly concealed how will anyone know?

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

seems like a pretty cut and clear case to me. what seems to be the issue? if it is before a security check point and the gun being carried is properly concealed how will anyone know?

You can't walk on to federal property and do as you feel.

Over at the State Department Garage I asked them if a city cop can just come inside and harass me they told me they can't touch me.
Federal trumps State.

Pretty cool.

**bio-chem** · 07-01-2008, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

You can't walk on to federal property and do as you feel.

Over at the State Department Garage I asked them a city cop can just come inside and harass me they told me they can't touch me.
Federal trumps State.

Pretty cool.

works for me

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 02:48 PM

I always thought it was stuff you just saw in Hollywood.

**DaMayor** · 07-01-2008, 03:23 PM

*in his best Jackie Gleason voice*

Well, I dunno how thangs work up yonder, but in the great metropolis of Dalzell, S.C., DaMayor trumps all things.

I'm in agreement with biochem, seems pretty clear to me.

The question I have is this....why would the gentleman need to carry a gun in an airport anyway?

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 03:46 PM

Federal law has jurisdiction at checkpoints and other secured areas and from what I understand Federal law prohibits firearms in the secure areas.

It's the unsecure areas where this guy is trying to stop him from carrying his gun.

The games people play.......

**min0 lee** · 07-01-2008, 03:50 PM

This is interesting if you ever do work for the government.

Federal System

Federalism, the federal system, is a political system in which ultimate authority is shared between a central government and state or local governments. Each level of government has sovereignty in some areas. Each area of government has its own agencies and officials that directly affect the citizens. There are some powers that the federal government has, like the power to declare war, that the state governments do not have. And, there are powers that the states have, like the power to regulate marriage and divorce laws, that the federal government does not have. However, the supremacy clause, Article VI of the US Constitution, establishes that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties of the United States are superior to state and local laws and ordinances. That means that state and local governments cannot pass laws that usurp the powers of the federal government or the Constitution.

**min0 lee** · 07-04-2008, 01:04 PM

Atlanta airport gun ban is challenged - Los Angeles Times

Tim Bearden Decides Getting Arrested In Front Of His Family Not Smart Move.

Atlanta airport gun ban is challenged

[COLOR=#333333! important]A state legislator claims that a new law letting Georgians carry firearms in public places applies to Hartsfield-Jackson International. A group files a federal suit against the facility and city.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#999999! important]By Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 2, 2008 [/COLOR]
ATLANTA -- The showdown over gun rights spilled into the nation's busiest airport Tuesday after a Georgia legislator announced that he would walk into the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport carrying a handgun.

Republican State Rep. Timothy Bearden is the sponsor of a new law that went into effect Tuesday allowing licensed Georgia gun owners to carry their firearms in public places. In his opinion, public places include the main lobby, ticketing areas and restaurants of Georgia airports.

Hartsfield-Jackson's general manager, however, disagreed, declaring the airport a "gun-free zone" and insisting that anyone found in possession of a handgun could be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.

The spat, which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution dubbed "the Atlanta version of 'High Noon,' " was the latest skirmish over Georgia's new law.

As of Tuesday, concealed firearms can be brought onto public transportation and into state parks, historic sites and restaurants that earn at least half their revenue from food sales.

They are not allowed at athletic events, churches, political rallies or bars.

Atlanta officials, including the mayor, police chief and general manager of the airport, have voiced strong opposition to the new law.

TV camera crews and reporters descended on the airport Tuesday for the promised showdown, only to find that Bearden had backed down.

He picked up arriving family members from the airport without a handgun but vowed that the showdown would take place in court.

A gun advocacy group, GeorgiaCarry.org, filed a federal lawsuit against the airport and the city of Atlanta, which owns and runs it, challenging the facility's firearms ban.

The legal challenge comes less than a week after the Supreme Court ruled that Americans had the right to own a gun for self-defense.

In striking down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the 2nd Amendment, Justice Antonin Scalia noted that the opinion should not cast doubt on "laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings."

For many Atlanta officials, Hartsfield-Jackson, an airport that hosts more than 84 million passengers a year, constitutes such a sensitive place.

Federal law already bans guns past the security checkpoints of U.S. airports, but at a news conference at the Atlanta airport's crowded atrium, Mayor Shirley Franklin vowed that the city would continue to enforce a no-gun policy throughout the airport.

Allowing concealed weapons at Hartsfield-Jackson, she said, would create "an unsafe environment that would endanger millions of people."

"My message is simple: Leave your firearms at home," said Benjamin R. DeCosta, the airport's general manager, who argued that the publicly owned and operated facility fell under a public-gathering exception in the Georgia law.

John Monroe, an attorney for GeorgiaCarry.org who attended the news conference to hand officials a copy of the lawsuit, said that the threatened detention and arrest of people carrying firearms violated a number of constitutional rights, including an individual's right to bear arms and be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

The lawsuit states that until the new Georgia law took effect, anyone carrying a firearm inside Georgia airports faced a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Monroe argued that the new law allowed Georgians to carry weapons on public transportation, which he said included the Atlanta airport.

"It's astonishing to me that the city of Atlanta continues to hold itself above the law," he said, noting that his group had successfully challenged an Atlanta ordinance banning firearms in city parks.

Franklin said Tuesday that she intended to have "serious conversations" with Georgia's members of Congress, asking them to withhold federal funds from facilities that allow firearms on their premises.

Bearden, however, said he thought that Georgians with firearms permits would soon be able to carry guns into airports.

"Now [that] the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the gun rights," he said, "I fully expect the Georgia courts will rule in favor of gun rights."

jenny.jarvie@latimes.com

**clemson357** · 07-06-2008, 07:49 AM

I sure am glad that everyone who obeys the law will be disarmed, particularly those who have a concealed carry permit and are allowed to carry on all our public streets.

**vader** · 07-06-2008, 08:44 AM

Thats great that the airport official won't tolerate any kind of gun on the premises, I beleive that Va. Tech had the same policy and it worked great!

**clemson357** · 07-06-2008, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by vader

Thats great that the airport official won't tolerate any kind of gun on the premises, I beleive that Va. Tech had the same policy and it worked great!

Worked at Columbine to.

Virtually every random shooting in American history has occured in a gun free zone.

**maniclion** · 07-07-2008, 03:56 PM

A Hawaiian Airlines pilot was recently recognized for defusing a situation last year when a 24-year-old man fired two gunshots at Lihue Airport on Kauai. Edward Jones, a Hawaiian Airlines first officer, received the 2004 Presidential Citation for Outstanding Service in Air Safety from the Air Line Pilots Association, International, last Thursday at the union's Annual Air Safety Forum in Washington, D.C.
"Jones' quick-thinking and courageous action defused an extremely serious situation and helped save innocent passengers' lives," said Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International.
Jones, 50, of Waikiki had earlier received a congressional citation for bravery.
Lloyd Albinio, now 25, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release on charges of assaulting a police officer on May 8, 2003.
Albinio pulled a semiautomatic gun on an unarmed federal security officer and fired one shot into the ceiling, according to the Hawaiian Airlines newsletter. Albinio ran through a corridor near a room where more than 50 passengers were waiting to board a flight to Honolulu and fired another shot into the floor.
Jones was off duty and talking to customer service agent Charlotte Hamada when he heard the shot. He hit the floor and told the passengers to get down on the floor, the newsletter said.
Jones told Hamada to call security. Albinio stood behind the counter and tried to use the telephone while he held his gun at Jones and Hamada, the newsletter said. Jones was able to persuade the gunman to let the passengers leave.
"It was a chance for me to get between him and the passengers," said Jones.
Hamada directed the passengers out of the holding room, according to the newsletter. Customer service agent Marianne "Boots" Mata told people in the jetway to get down on the floor, closed off the security door and advised another pilot to move the aircraft away from the jetway.
For eight minutes, Jones was alone with Albinio, who continued to hold his gun at Jones and later put the barrel of the gun in his own mouth, the newsletter said.
"I got him to start talking about his family, his mom," said Jones. "After a while he mellowed out a little bit."
Police arrived and arrested the gunman.
Jones worked 11 years as a paramedic/firefighter in Los Angeles before he moved to Honolulu. He started at Hawaiian Airlines in 1992 and has served as a chairman for the critical-incident response team.
Jones remains modest about this actions and commended Hamada and Mata for their heroism.
"The gate agents were the bravest," he said. "I didn't do anything braver than what any other Hawaiian Airline pilot would've done."

An UNARMED FEDERAL SECURITY OFFICER! If you are going to be a FEDERAL SECURITY officer then shouldn't you be armed? Luckily this situation was difused through non-violent means but in a split-second it could have turned ugly and I am betting no one out of the 50+ people had a gun but several were probably ex-military or were military or Law Enforcement. I think if you have had the training you should be able to carry anywhere. That way even if they are too cheap to hire FEDERAL SECURITY officers who have firearms training, the people who do have the training can fill that gap....

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