Group to state leaders: 'Focus on real problems'

House Bill 981, which made it through Crossover Day last week at the Georgia General Assembly, would allow Georgians to carry concealed weapons in public schools, college campuses and other locations such as bars and most government buildings.

In Georgia, you must be at least 21 to get a concealed weapon permit and no training is required. The new proposal would allow 18, 19 and 20-year-olds to obtain a gun permit provided they take training and go through classroom instruction.

students were victimized by armed assailants many times in 2011, and the crime trend has continued this year, including a pair of students being robbed at gunpoint last week.

The school’s chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus has continued to call for the need for guns to be allowed on campus. The group voiced its approval this month when the Colorado State Supreme Court removed a board of regents ban on campus carry due to preemption by state law.

In a survey this week performed on behalf of Better Georgia, Georgians oppose the concealed weapon changes by an overwhelming margin with 66 percent in opposition. And even those Georgians who call themselves "very conservative" oppose the changes by a double-digit margin with 46 percent - a near majority - saying they "strongly" oppose the proposal.

Do you agree with this?

Better Georgia, which according to its website is a new "non-partisan organization created to make sure Georgia’s leaders focus on real problems for real Georgians." Its survey of 773 registered Georgia voters was conducted March 11-13, by 20/20 Insight, LLC and has a 3.5 percent margin of error. A full report, including survey questions, can be downloaded from BetterGeorgia.com/SurveyMarch2012.

Better Georgia also surveyed state voters about other important issues, and concluded that while “voters see the economy, job creation and public education as top priorities, lawmakers have filled their calendar with fringe issues that receive public support from a minority of voters.”

Here’s a snapshot of the survey results:

Charter Schools

A majority of Georgians oppose changing the Constitution to remove local control from city and county school boards with only 16 percent of Georgians supporting the change. Georgians between the ages of 30 and 44, those most likely to have children who are about to start or have just started school, oppose the change by a nearly 2:1 margin with 43 percent saying they strongly oppose the change.

Abortion

Georgians lean heavily against further legislative restrictions on women's health choices. By a 14-point margin, voters support Georgia’s current restrictions on abortions beginning during the second trimester, or 24 weeks. Forty-three percent of voters oppose changing restrictions to 20 weeks. 29 percent support the change. While 73 percent of Georgia women say that the economy and jobs should be among the legislature's highest priorities, only 17 percent say the same about passing laws that further restrict choice.

HOPE Scholarship

Even after a heated debate in the legislature, a family income cap as low as $100,000 for the HOPE scholarship remains popular, with a solid majority of Georgia voters. Fifty-six percent still favor the proposal. This compares well to 61 percent support in January. Gov. Nathan Deal's office publicly accused Democrats of playing partisan politics by proposing a less restrictive cap of $140,000 that would put the program's shaky finances back on solid ground. Republican voters remain split. Forty-two percent support the plan and 47 percent oppose it. An overwhelming majority of voters who don't call themselves a Republican back a $100,000 cap, including independents who say they normally vote for the Republican candidate in a two-way race.

Foreclosure

A majority of voters say that Georgia's $100 million share of the national foreclosure settlement should be spent to help homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure instead of being sent to the General Fund as Gov. Deal favors. This includes a solid majority of independent voters, 60 percent.

“Gov. Deal and the General Assembly are on the wrong side of many issues they seem to think are a priority, including state control of charter schools, concealed carry gun laws, tougher abortion restrictions, an income cap for the HOPE Scholarship and how to spend the national foreclosure settlement here in Georgia,” said Bryan Long, executive director of Better Georgia in a release. “We will make sure voters in every district know how their representatives vote on these issues. Lawmakers won’t be able to vote in Atlanta and then hide from those votes back home.”