Unlike many states, Georgia does not prohibit lawful carry on buses, light rail, and public transportation property. That's a good thing, but after a negligent discharge on board a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority bus, MARTA's police chief is now calling for bearing arms to be to be restricted on public transit.
Authorities say a man named Cruz Valazquez Guillermo inadvertently discharged his handgun on a bus in Sandy Springs, GA, injuring himself and a fellow passenger. Thankfully, neither of the men suffered life-threatening injuries, and Guillermo is now facing charges of reckless conduct and aggravated assault.
Incidents like this are incredibly rare on MARTA. According to the system's own statistics, there were about 1.6 violent crimes per 1 million riders in 2024. That's considerably less than the 3.4 violent crimes per 1 million riders reported in the "gun-free" Chicago Transit Authority system in 2024, but that doesn't seem to matter much to MARTA's police chief.
MARTA Police Chief Scott Kreher said incidents like the Sandy Springs shooting highlight the risks of allowing firearms on public transit. He has advocated for TSA-style security like at airports and a ban on guns aboard MARTA.
“If we’re going to have hundreds of people on mass transit, we should not allow open carry like we have in the state of Georgia,” Kreher said.
Any such ban would require an exception to Georgia’s open carry law, which has historically been difficult to obtain, Kreher said.
Does he want a ban on open carry, or a ban on carry in general?
I think the journos at 11 News in Atlanta need a refresher course on the differences between open and concealed carry, as well as Georgia's permitless carry law, because based on their previous reporting some of them are a little confused. Here's a report from the station from June of this year.
Interim CEO Jonathan Hunt asked lawmakers to consider an exemption from the state's open-carry laws and to provide recurring state funding for security improvements.
"MARTA respectfully requests that the General Assembly consider legislation to prohibit weapons on the MARTA transit system for non-law enforcement personnel, similar to the exemptions that already exist for certain public buildings and government facilities," Hunt wrote in a response to an inquiry from Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte and House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration.
Yeah, the CEO isn't calling for an exemption from open carry. He wants to see firearms prohibited altogether, and that would be an absolutely terrible idea.
MARTA serves hundreds of thousands of passengers each day, and prohibiting them from lawfully carrying a firearm leaves them defenseless before and after they use the system too, not just when they're on a bus or train. Some riders would be able to afford switching to their own private vehicle instead of using public transportation, but what about those who can't? It is unconscionable to deprive those individuals of their right to bear arms, especially when we know from the experience of cities like Chicago that criminals will just view the "gun-free" transit network as a target rich environment for robberies and violent assaults.
Guillermo should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but Georgia lawmakers should reject Kreher and Hunt's call for a "gun-free" MARTA. Such a move would only put Georgians at risk, and would almost certainly be challenged in court as well.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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