ATLANTA — A Georgia state senator is trying to change the terms of an entrenched partisan debate: He says his goal is not to restrict gun ownership, but to prevent the fatal shootings of children.
Tuesday’s statement by Democrat Emanuel Jones of Decatur reflects the strategies of those seeking to curb gun violence in Republican-led states where the legislative majority supports lax gun laws.
Jones said at the first meeting of the Senate Committee on Safe Storage of Firearms that his goal is “not a gun bill,” but to build bipartisan support for improved gun safety. The committee heard ideas about tax breaks for gun owners who install safety devices, education campaigns and safe storage measures.
“One of my thoughts when I set up this commission of inquiry was how we can protect as many children as possible from a premature death by a gun in an unsafely kept home,” Jones said.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a national advocacy group that advocates for measures to reduce gun violence, Georgia has one of the highest rates of unintentional shootings of children in the country.
Still, gun control is not a popular issue among the state’s Republicans.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s vocal advocacy for gun rights helped him win the election and put him in the national spotlight. In 2022, Kemp signed a law allowing people to carry a handgun without a state permit.
Georgia Republican Senator Marty Harbin of Tyrone speaks before the state Senate at the Capitol in Atlanta on February 27, 2024. Photo credit: AP/Arvin Temkar
Democrats have tried to propose restrictive legislation, but Republican resistance has prevented bolder proposals from gaining traction.
This year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Georgia attempted to pass a gun safety bill that would have provided a $300 tax credit to gun owners who have secure storage devices — including gun safes and locks — and who have completed gun safety courses.
The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 162 to 3, but failed in the Senate.
Republican Sen. Frank Ginn of Danielsville, who said he is a longtime member of the National Rifle Association, said he wants to ensure Georgia does not jeopardize the rights of gun owners.
“To me, guns are like parachutes. You only need them when you need them, and if you need one and don’t have one, they’re no use to you,” Ginn said.
Senator Marty Harbin, a Republican from Tyrone and a committee member, said locking up firearms does not necessarily prevent children from shooting themselves or others.
“The ban would not stop them from doing what they set out to do,” Harbin said.
Harbin said parents were not supervising their children adequately and explained: “Families are in crisis.” He suggested that clergy could be deployed in schools to help with problems at home.
Compounding the gun safety problem is the fact that Atlanta had the second-highest number of gun thefts from cars in the nation in 2022, according to Everytown.
In May, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr reprimanded Savannah officials over an ordinance that prohibited residents from keeping firearms in unlocked cars. Carr, a Republican, said the measure violated Georgia law. But this month, Savannah police began enforcing the ordinance, The Savannah Morning News reported.
Several states, including Rhode Island, Michigan and North Carolina, have enacted gun safety measures, and Atlanta authorities recently held an event to give away car gun lockers.
At the Democratic National Convention on Monday, President Joe Biden called for gun safety measures, but stressed that gun violence is the leading cause of death among children.
“This is not just a problem in Georgia,” Jones said during the committee hearing. “As the president said in his speech last night, it is a national problem.”
A 2023 AP-NORC poll found that most people want stricter gun control measures and both Republicans and Democrats believe gun violence is too high.
Jones told the Associated Press he was optimistic about the new effort, and was particularly excited about the idea of giving tax incentives to companies for distributing gun locks and other firearm security devices.
“Every year we get closer,” Jones said.
Mike Webb, a Georgia father and longtime gun owner, told the committee that his 18-year-old son took his own life with a gun more than 20 years ago. Three years ago, his ex-wife and the mother of his daughter was one of eight people killed in shootings at several Atlanta-area spas.
“Let’s stop creating panic by getting excited about a nonexistent, evil plan to take away our guns,” Webb said. “Let’s do something productive to drive change.”
