Democrats and Republicans both think their core constituencies support vastly differing approaches to gun rights.
"This is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many other senseless tragedies," Democrat Kamala Harris said last week, without getting into the specifics of gun policy when she addressed the gun violence at Apalachee High School.
But she did earlier this year. In March, as vice president, the White House posted Harris initiatives that called on states to pass red flag laws while promising federal support for enforcing them. Red flag laws enable judges to restrict the gun rights of people they fear may be a danger to themselves or others. Georgia has no red flag law.
"Here in Georgia, I think many voters would be shocked to know that it is totally not illegal to give your child an AR-15 and that it's perfectly legal to leave an AR-15 lying around, around your kids. I think most voters would think that's insane," state Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) told 11Alive on Monday.
Republican Donald Trump spoke to the National Rifle Association convention in May when Joe Biden was still the Democratic candidate.
"In my second term, we will roll back every Biden attack on the Second Amendment. The attacks are fast and furious, "Trump told NRA's national convention.
During the pandemic, Trump designated the firearms industry as critical infrastructure. His administration also temporarily banned bump stocks, which make semi-automatic firearms fire faster.
But Trump had nothing but love for the NRA – and Georgia Republican chairman Josh McKoon predicts guns won’t be a dominant issue in the presidential debate.
"None of us think that a troubled 14-year-old should be able to carry a lethal weapon into a public school. I think there's a way to distinguish between what happened here recently in Georgia and the broader debate," McKoon said.
He predicts Tuesday’s presidential debate will include a question or two about gun policy – but that questions about the economy will dominate.