ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan defends gun rights, but he doesn't believe the average civilian is as well prepared as a police officer to handle a potentially deadly situation.
"We go through a lot of training to get to the position where we can make a judgment between whether to shoot or not to shoot," Grogan said
When asked how dangerous could that be, Grogan responded, "you can get yourself in a situation where the person who's armed could shoot when they shouldn't be shooting or fail to shoot when they should."
Grogan was one of more than 100 chiefs honored for their service at the State Capitol on Tuesday afternoon.
Lawmakers currently are considering a bill that would allow school boards to designate an administrator who can carry a gun as well as let gun owners carry firearms into bars, onto college campuses and into houses of worship.
A number of police chiefs said those provisions could make it more difficult to protect police as they protect and serve the public.
Samuel Patterson, the Public Safety Director and Police Chief for Riverdale, said allowing school administrators to carry guns could be dangerous.
"How do we prepare them? How do we train them? How do we certify them so they are, in fact, weapons experts as opposed to just another individual with a gun?" Patterson asked.
"We don't think everybody should have a gun, because when they do, that creates an environment where we don't know the good guys from the bad guys," Patterson said.
State Rep. Rick Jasperse, who introduced the bill, said he understands the chiefs' concerns, but he said the proposal would allow school officials to act before police have to time to react.
"Police and protection can't be everywhere. That part of our bill will allow school administrators to take action at that moment," Jasperse said.
The bill is now being reviewed by the state Senate.
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