Democrats renew push for stricter gun laws after mass school shooting
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State Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) speaks at a press conference calling for more gun restrictions a week after a mass shooting at Apalachee High School left four dead and nine injured. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios
It's been a week since police say a 14-year-old killed four people and injured nine others in a mass shooting at a Georgia high school, once again thrusting the issue of gun violence into the national spotlight and reigniting the debate about how to prevent it among lawmakers.
Why it matters: The Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County was the deadliest school shooting in Georgia's history, the New York Times reports.
- In 2022, firearms injuries were the leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1-19, according to the CDC.
The big picture: Firearm restrictions have been rolled back over the last decade in Georgia. A 2014 law expanded the list of places where firearms could be allowed to include churches, bars and some schools, the AJC reports.
- And in 2022, a state law passed which allows people to carry concealed handguns without a permit, according to the AJC.
Driving the news: Georgia's Democratic leaders in the Senate held a press conference Tuesday calling on their Republican colleagues to support legislation requiring gun owners to lock up firearms and to allow police or loved ones to petition a court to prevent an at-risk person from purchasing a gun.
What they're saying: Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain) said many parents remember a time when "they didn't have to worry every night that your children wouldn't come home from school the next day, or worry during morning drop-off that it would be the last time they would ever see their child."
- LaDeija Kimbrough, a Clark Atlanta University junior and member of Students Demand Action, said Tuesday that in all the commotion, "we should remember that a tragedy happened at Apalachee High School."
- "The lives that are being lost and are at stake right now, they're not about being red or blue or liberal or conservative," she told Axios in a recent interview. "It's not about what political party that you're in."
The other side: Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said he will "ensure they continue to have all the resources they need to find that road to recovery, not engage in election year politics."
- Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said school shootings "happen far too frequently," and he's "all for rational ideas that might help solve this problem."
- Jones, who in 2023 backed legislation that would have allowed teachers to carry firearms in schools, said he, Kemp and House Speaker Jon Burns worked to allocate $105 million into this year's budget for school safety measures.
The intrigue: During the legislative session earlier this year, lawmakers could not agree on the terms for two gun safety bills that included proposed tax exemptions and income tax credits for gun safes and other safety devices, according to the Associated Press.
The bottom line: "In the legislature, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and if you're not willing to say anything about it or protest about it, then it's not going to do any good for us to sit here and meet and talk about gun safety," state Sen. David Lucas (D-Macon) said at last week's Safe Firearm Storage Study Committee meeting.