CLARKE COUNTY, Ga. — Students at The University of Georgia are protesting against the new campus carry law.
The Legislature passed it, but the governor has yet to sign.
A few dozen people were by the arch at UGA, holding signs, speaking to the crowd, chanting and cheering.
Students, professors and Athens community members gathered at the arch on Broad Street on the UGA campus and made their voices heard.
They rallied against a bill that would legalize guns on college campuses.
English professor Magdalena Zurawski argued the campus carry bill would raise tuition and endanger lives.
.@universityofga student Paul started petition that gained thousands of signatures called Keep Guns off UGA's Campus pic.twitter.com/nJSCk2PmIX
— Rikki Klaus (@RikkiKlaus) April 27, 2016
"This should be a hot debate between and for Georgians," Zurawski said. "Not a gun lobby whose only interest is selling guns, a lobby that knows nothing and cares nothing about higher education."
The attendees urged Gov. Nathan Deal to veto the bill.
"I started a petition called Keep Guns off UGA's campus. Right now, it has over 8,000 signatures," Zurawski said.
Student Paul Oshinski worries if the bill became law, it would hurt the academic environment.
"Me, as a political science major, I've been in classroom settings where people had to leave the room, because it was such a hotly debated topic, and I don't think adding guns to the mix is a good idea," Oshinski said.
The pro-gun group, Students for Concealed Carry, supports the bill.
The group says gun owners should be allowed the same measure of protection on college
campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else.
Cox Media Group
