ATLANTA — This year, the Georgia legislature mostly ignored 17 gun restriction bills – including bills that would have limited access to guns for folks with mental health issues.
The 17 gun restriction bills were introduced by Democrats. The capitol is run by Republicans, who have expanded, not restricted, gun rights.
When police converged on the Northside Medical building in Midtown Atlanta Wednesday in an attempt to take down a mass shooter – and ordered people nearby to shelter in place – one of them was state Sen. Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta), who was having lunch.
McLaurin said after taking stock of the mass shooting, the injuries and death, and the danger inherent in the ongoing manhunt, he took stock of the Georgia politics that he says enables gun violence.
"Frustration is the right word," McLaurin told 11Alive Thursday. "This is a policy decision. We are choosing to live like this. There are common-sense gun safety, sensible regulations legislation that we could pass."
In 2023, Democrats introduced bills ranging from requiring background checks and waiting periods to safe storage of firearms, to red flag laws limiting firearms for people who may have mental health issues.
Republicans didn’t allow a vote for any of them, even in committee.
Vernon Lee, a longtime capitol lobbyist and gun rights backer, said the problem isn’t an absence of gun restrictions – it’s an absence of stiff law enforcement.
"There should be swifter, stricter punishment [for gun crimes]," Lee said. "There are laws on the books (that say) these are the ramifications if you do that. Some of those ramifications have not been enforced enough to curtail gun violence."
McLaurin said he’s heard that far too much.
"The public that want commonsense gun reform are being blocked by, again, a tiny minority of people who are characterizing any reasonable attempt at sensible legislation as repealing the second amendment. And it’s BS," McLaurin said.
All those gun bills are still technically in play during next year’s legislative session. But by all but ignoring them this year, Republicans spoke volumes about their interest in advancing them next year.