COVINGTON, Ga. — Permits will no longer be required of Georgians to carry a concealed firearm after such legislation passed through the General Assembly last week.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed Senate Bill 319 along party lines Friday just two days after it was approved in the Georgia House.

Gov. Brian Kemp, who was a proponent of the legislation, was expected to sign the bill into law soon but had not done so at the time of this publication.

“I appreciate the House & Senate for their hard work to get Constitutional Carry over the finish line,” Kemp wrote in a series of tweets. “Law-abiding Georgians deserve to ensure they can protect themselves and their families, and this legislation strengthens that God-given right.

“I look forward to signing the Georgia Constitutional Carry Act of 2021 into law soon and fulfilling another promise I made to the voters of this state,” he added.

For weeks, Democrats have argued the legislation would lead to an increase in crime. State Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, who is chairperson of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said the bill would remove “one of the only checks” that keep criminals from getting firearms. Currently, Georgia does not require a background check in private sales of firearms, so oftentimes permit applications are the first time a check is required.

“Senate Bill 319 allowing permit-less carry in Georgia passes the Senate,” Parent wrote on Twitter. “This eliminates one of the only checks we have to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Instead we should pass universal background checks, safe storage laws, and permitting that includes training.”

Parent also said police chiefs across the state have come out in opposition to the bill.

“Everyone has guns," she said. "It makes our streets dangerous.”

But Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, said violent crime has risen in Georgia because of a lack of aggressive law enforcement by some police agencies.

"Let's stop blaming an inanimate object," Robertson said.

"The Constitution of the United States says we have the right to bear arms and the right to protect ourselves and our families," said Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, who was the bill's chief sponsor.

But what are law enforcement officials saying?

Covington Police Chief Stacey Cotton told The Covington News he didn’t think crime would increase much, if at all.

“I don’t believe this legislation will increase crime very much if [at] all,” he said.  “Several years ago, a law was passed that prohibited police from asking for a concealed carry permit if a person was seen or believed to have a weapon on their person. That law, in theory, negated the need for the permit anymore if we were not allowed to ask for it.

“With that said, I have always been a supporter of law-abiding citizens’ right to carry and possess a firearm, and traditionally those people rarely, if ever, commit crimes,” Cotton added. “A criminal, by definition, is someone who has committed a crime, and during that act the penalties are increased if a gun is involved.  If the person is a convicted felon, then they were not supposed to have the weapon in the first place so they have committed a crime by just simple possession.  No amount of regulation or laws that I have seen in my 35 years of law enforcement has stopped the person intent on committing a crime or hindered them in using a gun to commit the crime. The law is the last thing a criminal is concerned about.”

Once the bill is signed into law, its impact could be felt on a financial level. 

Over the last several years in Newton County, more than 2,500 permits have been issued locally, which translates to a conservative estimate of between $75,000 and $195,000 in annual revenue, depending on the permit application type. The cost for a new applicant is $78 while a renewal only costs $30.

Since 2016, there have been at least 2,557 permits issued by the Newton County Probate Court. The most in recent years came in 2018 (3,114).

Permits issued by the year:

• 2016 — 2,675

• 2017 — 2,557

• 2018 — 3,114

• 2019 — 2,720

• 2020 — 2,690* (*as of September, per report)