Due to a Georgia firearms ban, Atlanta’s Music Midtown 2022 event, which was scheduled to include artists including Future, 2 Chainz, and Freddie Gibbs, has been postponed.
The event was canceled, according to many sources on Monday (August 1), because of a Georgia state legislation that permits citizens to carry weapons on public property. On September 17 and 18, the event was scheduled to take place at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park.
“Hey Midtown fans — due to circumstances beyond our control, Music Midtown will no longer be taking place this year,” organizers said in a statement on the festival’s official website. “We were looking forward to reuniting in September and hope we can all get back to enjoying the festival together again soon.”
Guns would not be allowed on the event grounds as part of the organizers’ effort to protect festival attendees. They believed otherwise, though, due to worries about possible lawsuits from gun rights activists and the fact that festival organizers thought artists wouldn’t attend if firearms were allowed.
The “Safe Carry Protection Act,” which broadened the state’s lax gun rules to allow people to carry in bars, churches, schools, and other private establishments, is the statute that’s been responsible for this catastrophe. The “Guns Everywhere” regulation was widely criticized after a 2019 court judgement that further broadened it.
The event has traditionally prohibited guns on its property; but, with the new law, things are completely different now. The festival was founded in 1996 by Atlanta-based music organizers Alex Cooley, Peter Conlon, and Alex Hoffman.
Denzel Curry, Key Glock, Baby Tate, and more performers were scheduled to perform at the festival with Future, 2 Chainz, and Freddie Gibbs.
Georgia is hardly the only state under criticism for its liberal gun policies. The Supreme Court ruled in June that Americans can carry a gun for self-defense and that the New York carry permit was too onerous. Particularly in light of the increase in gun violence in New York City, Jim Jones took issue with it.
“Somebody break this down for all of us cause it’s gettin very nasty in ny to the point regular workin class citizen are takin th risk of carry guns for there protection cause th city is filled mwit to much gun violence tht th police can’t get under control and people are scared for they life,” Jim Jones captioned his Instagram post of the new ruling.
