Ga. lawmaker-elect wants more gun rights

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ATLANTA, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- A Georgia lawmaker who hasn't yet taken office has written legislation to end bans on carrying guns in churches and on college campuses.

Charles Gregory, R-Kennesaw, was elected a state representative last month after campaigning for expanded gun rights and less government power, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. He won't join the lower house officially until the next session begins Jan. 14.

Gregory's legislative package consists of four bills.

"Evil resides in the heart of the individual, not in material objects," he wrote into the legislation, a more elegant version of the National Rifle Association slogan "Guns don't kill people; people kill people."

The package would end all restrictions on where concealed weapons can be carried. Those restrictions include churches, bars and most government buildings. College students are allowed to keep guns locked in car trunks but cannot carry them into classrooms or dormitories.

Gregory also wants to bar the governor from suspending gun sales during a state of emergency.

The legislation was introduced days after the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

Unless Republican leaders support Gregory's proposals, they are unlike to advance, the Journal reported. The legislature passed a bill in 2010 expanding the right to carry concealed weapons but rejected a measure in this year's session that would have allowed them in churches, colleges and some other places.