ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers heard from the public Wednesday about gun laws – in light of a lethal mass shooting earlier this month at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.
Children were among those appearing at a senate hearing, which was scheduled prior to the Barrow County school shooting. But that act of gun violence was very much top of mind.
Dozens of children from an Atlanta school spent the morning at the capitol. They sang in hallways and carried signs decrying gun violence. And they asked a senate committee to help write new laws designed to curb school shootings.
"We keep asking the adults to do something about this. They can hear us, but they will not listen. This is our future you are affecting here," said 11-year-old Autumn Humphries during the hearing.
The hearing was originally set to explore the issue of safe gun storage. Lawmakers saw a box now used in some school systems where school resource officers can store and lock weapons.
Some Republicans in the legislature also want to explore creating incentives for gun buyers to acquire lock boxes.
"Safe storage isn’t just a recommendation. It’s a necessity to prevent our families and communities from preventable tragedies," said Jessie Ojeda of the Giffords Law Center, speaking to committee members.
Many Democrats backed a bill that failed this year that would have required households with children to store firearms in locked storage boxes. But one committee Republican said communities need to address other factors behind school violence.
"How do we build family? How do we build a conscience of a people? And we removed - I’ll just say this we removed the ten commandments out of the classroom. We removed a lot of things, including public school chaplains," said state Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone), who spoke remotely.
No GOP members attended the hearing in-person.
Republicans blocked all Democratic and most Republican gun reforms introduced in this year's legislative session. A new session will convene in January.