ATLANTA, Ga. – Volunteers with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today criticized members of the General Assembly for failing to pass any meaningful gun violence prevention legislation this session.
Following the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Georgians from across the state urged their elected leaders to prioritize passing gun violence prevention legislation. In February, Moms Demand Action volunteers from across the state were joined by well over 1,500 people at the Georgia chapter’s annual advocacy day. Just last weekend, 30,000 people participated in the Atlanta March for Our Lives, again urging policymakers to do more to prevent gun violence.
“Over the past few months, Georgians have made it crystal clear that we want our elected leaders to pass meaningful gun violence prevention legislation,” said Page Rast, a volunteer with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “Despite the unwavering public outcry for change, our leaders failed to pass any meaningful gun violence prevention legislation. We will remember this in November. When elected leaders fail to stand on the side of public safety, they make it clear that we need new ones.”
This session, several gun violence prevention bills were filed but never passed, including:
- A bill that would have closed a background check loophole in Georgia that currently requires mental health records to be removed from the NICS Databases after five years;
- A bill that would have helped keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers by prohibiting those who are convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes and those subject to active final domestic violence restraining orders from buying or having guns.
- A bill that would have prohibited the possession of bump stocks, which were used in the Las Vegas shooting where more than 50 people were killed and over 800 people were injured.
- A bill that would have required that people seeking a permit to carry a handgun in public first receive safety training, which would bring Georgia in line with the requirements in 31 states and Washington, D.C.
Thankfully, the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action – with the support of voters from across the state – was able to prevent dangerous efforts from gaining momentum this session, including a permitless carry bill that would have dismantled the public safety standards Georgia has put in place for who can carry a loaded handgun in public and calls to expand the state’s reckless guns on college campuses law.
