Dear Editor,
Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance says gunning down children with AK-style weapons is “just a fact of life.”
Governor Kemp says, “Today is not the day for politics and policy.” The state legislature refuses to pass gun safety measures that have long been enacted in other states.
The blood of the innocents in Winder is in the hands of every legislator who refuses to enact measures that Georgians have begged them to pass and that save lives.
The legislature will not even pass a law requiring parents to use locks to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of children, a bill that likely would have saved four lives in Winder last Wednesday. Gun safes save lives in ways that hardened classrooms, panic buttons, metal detectors, clear backpacks, and armed resource officers clearly cannot. Why not give a tax break to purchase any tool that safely stores guns?
Legislators know red flag laws work. Any legislator, knowing a loved one is in crisis, will indeed prevent that person from accessing a gun to harm themselves or others. Responsible gun owners lock them up, want gun users trained on safe use, and prevent those intending to harm others or themselves from having easy access to guns.
We urgently need sensible gun safety legislation. They do not affect Second Amendment rights. But they do save the lives of our children. So why don’t our legislators want to protect our kids?
It’s way past time for our legislators to finally put the safety of our children first.
Sincerely, Bruce Menke, Athens