Georgia Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Everytown Respond to Karen Handel’s Remarks on Rep. Lucy McBath and Jordan Davis

ATLANTA — The Georgia chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, today released the following statements in response to newly released footage showing Georgia Republican Karen Handel agreeing with a constituent that Rep. Lucy McBath needs to “get off of it,” referring to the 2012 murder of her son, Jordan Davis.

“Karen Handel’s callous, ignorant comments demean Rep. McBath’s work, her son, and the tens of thousands of other Georgia families who have had loved ones killed or wounded by gun violence,” said Adrienne Penake, a volunteer with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Lucy McBath has turned her grief into action – she’s spent her career fighting to make sure that Georgia families don’t have to experience the tragedy that hers did. Handel’s comments are further proof of how unfit she is for office.”

“Every year, more than 1,500 Georgians are killed by gun violence,” said Jacqueline Azah, a volunteer with Students Demand Action at Clark Atlanta University. “How dare Karen Handel tell Rep. McBath to ‘get off it?’ Handel’s failure to ‘get on it’ by supporting any policies that would address the gun violence epidemic in America proves how wrong she is for Georgia.”

According to the American Independent, “[a]t a Handel campaign event in the district on Saturday, as seen in the video, an unidentified supporter complains about McBath talking about her son, saying she should ‘get off of it.’ because ‘she’s not the only one that has a tragic story.’ Handel responds by saying “Exactly, exactly — that’s right. In Congress, you have to be able to look at issues beyond just your person.”

In Congress, Rep. McBath has advocated for broadly supported, common-sense gun safety legislation, including H.R. 8, which would require background checks on all gun sales, and H.R. 1112, which would close the Charleston loophole, both of which have passed through the House.

More than 1,500 people in Georgia die every year from gun violence. More information on gun violence in Georgia is available here, and more information on gun violence in the U.S. is available here.