ATLANTA, GA. — Today, Georgia State Representative Shea Roberts, Everytown for Gun Safety Managing Director of Volunteer Engagement Ken Gonzalez, and over 150 volunteers from Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action called for action on gun safety during their annual advocacy day at the State Capitol. This year’s advocacy day coincides with the celebration of 10 years of Moms Demand Action’s life-saving work to protect our families and communities from gun violence.
“We are gathering at the State Capitol because Georgia families deserve to be safe from senseless gun violence,” said Emma Jones, a volunteer with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Communities across the peach state continue to be devastated by gun violence and we shouldn’t wait for the next tragedy to strike before acting – the time for action is now. We look forward to working with lawmakers and gun sense champions like Representative Au to pass common-sense gun safety laws, and save lives.”
For ten years, Moms Demand Action volunteers have been on the forefront of fighting the gun lobby’s priorities, including last legislative session, when lawmakers repealed Georgia’s effective permitting system, allowing gun owners to carry guns in public without a background check. This legislative session, Moms Demand Action and Student Demand Action volunteers look forward to partnering with lawmakers to work on policies that promote safe and responsible gun ownership, like secure storage which are proven to help prevent unauthorized access to firearms by children.
This year, Moms Demand Action volunteers throughout our Nation are asking lawmakers to take action and pass proactive measures that will save lives. This comes after Moms Demand Action volunteers had major success this past election cycle — across the country 150 Moms Demand Action volunteers won their race for office, and gun violence prevention proved to be a winning issue — including in Georgia. In January, Everytown released the updated Gun Law Rankings for 2023 which ranks each state by the strength of their gun laws. This year, Georgia dropped from the “weak” category all the way down to rank 47 in the “national failure” category after repealing its permit requirement for both concealed and open carry, last year. More information about gun violence in Georgia is available here.