ATLANTA — Two relatives of victims of the 2021 spa shootings in metro Atlanta and Democratic lawmakers on Friday called for Georgia to reverse its recent trend toward looser gun restrictions and enact stricter measures in the wake of the shooting at an elementary school in Texas.
Michael Webb, whose wife Xiaojie Tan was among the six women of Asian descent killed in the shooting spree across two counties, described himself as "not a liberal or a Democrat" but "a father, grandfather and victim of gun violence."
Webb said he himself is a gun owner, and hunter and supports "our rights to own a firearm" but also supports laws that would place higher barriers to gun ownership.
This year, Gov. Brian Kemp made a successful push to remove the need for a permit to carry a legally purchased gun in Georgia. That relaxation of the state's gun laws was under scrutiny in the forum on Friday.
Kemp this week said in a statement that it was "incomprehensible" for "children and innocent adults, including a school teacher, to be taken from this world in such a depraved, violent way." He also offered an outline of what Georgia agencies are doing to boost school security.
Webb framed the law eliminating the need for a permit to carry weapons as one that will "risk lives." He also said he supports laws that would establish a waiting period to complete a gun purchase - noting that the shooter in Atlanta bought his gun the same day he committed the killings.
"I feel reasonably confident, knowing the evidence, that the mother of my daughter would still be alive had there just been a three or a five-day waiting period," he said.
Robert Peterson, whose mother Yong Ae Yue also died in the March 2021 shootings, said "gun violence is a personal issue for me."
"Gun violence is the reason my mother and seven other victims are not here with us today, to enjoy their lives and families," he said. "It's why people in my community no longer feel safe going to work, to school, to the grocery store, riding MARTA or going about their daily lives."
He said he felt the permitless carry law would result in "making us all less safe."
The lawmakers, state Sen. Dr. Michelle Au and state Rep. Sam Park, expressed frustration with past failed efforts to introduce gun regulations in the Georgia General Assembly.
Au said such bills are usually blocked before even being given a hearing in the state legislature.
"They won't even let us talk about it, won't let us discuss the bills," she said.
Park said the issue "should not be partisan, should not be political, it's about public safety."
Au said Democrats in the legislature would nonetheless continue to introduce gun measures, offering universal background checks, waiting periods and safe storage rules as examples of policies they would push for.
Webb said he would start would be "making it a little harder to get guns."