Georgia Republican leader seeks policy changes after school shooting, but Democrats want more

ATLANTA (AP) — The speaker of the Georgia state House of Representatives says lawmakers will consider new policies in 2025 to support student mental health, detect guns and encourage people to safely store their weapons after a shooting. school shooting He killed four people at a high school northeast of Atlanta.

But Republican Jon Burns of Newington is not responding to Democrats’ demands, which include universal background checks, a mandate to securely lock up guns and a “Red Flag” Law allow the state to temporarily confiscate weapons from a person in crisis.

The proposals made by Burns on Thursday are the first political response to The September 4th shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.

“While House Republicans have already made significant investments to strengthen safety in our schools, increase access to mental health care, and keep our students safe, I am committed to not only continuing this work but also pursuing additional policies that help ensure a tragedy like this never happens again in our state,” Burns wrote.

The Republican leader is trying to protect his party’s 102-78 House majority in the November election. Debates over gun policy could influence a handful of contested seats in Atlanta’s northern suburbs, including three held by incumbent Republicans.

At least one of those vulnerable Republicans, state Rep. Deborah Silcox of Sandy Springs, said in a statement Thursday that she would go further than Burns, supporting universal background checks.

A Republican Party spokesman Governor Brian Kempwho called the shooting “our worst nightmare,” said Kemp would consider all proposals, but said the investigation continues to reveal new information. A Republican Party spokesman Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones he said he was preparing a response.

Teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, died in the shootingNine other people were injured, seven of them by gunshot wounds.

Democrats have criticized Republicans, saying the violence is a consequence of the GOP eases gun laws in Georgia.

“What makes this even more devastating is knowing that we had the policy tools to prevent this tragedy from happening,” Rep. Saira Draper of Atlanta said Friday as she and her Democratic colleagues called for a special legislative session on gun violence. “And we didn’t use them because my Republican colleagues chose to gamble with the lives of our children rather than face the wrath of the gun lobby.”

Investigators say the shooting was carried out by Colt Gray, 14, who is charged as an adult with four counts of murder. Authorities have charged his 54-year-old father, Colin Grayfor second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children. Investigators say Colin Gray gave his son access to an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle when he knew the teen was a danger to himself and others.

Burns said he wanted to explore sharing information between police, schools and mental health workers, a nod to the fact that Colt and Colin Gray were interviewed in 2023 by a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy over an online post threatening a school shooting. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said her office I didn’t find enough evidence to file a complaint. It is unclear whether Colt Gray’s previous schools were informed of the threats.

“We recognize that a breakdown in communication between school systems and law enforcement allowed the shooter’s background to fall through the cracks when he transferred to Apalachee High School,” Burns wrote.

The president also said he wants to expand mental health care for students. The state’s voluntary Apex program refers students to counseling services. The program covered 540,000 of Georgia’s 1.75 million students in 2022-23, or about 31%.

Burns also wants to explore ways to detect guns before they enter schools. Some schools are using camera systems and artificial intelligence to try to detect guns instead of metal detectors.

The House speaker is proposing tougher penalties for school threats, saying he wants to combat similar threats that have been seen since the shooting. The criminal penalties would apply only to those charged as adults, and most of the threat-makers were arrested as juveniles.

Ultimately, Burns said House Republicans would again promote the safe storage of firearmsThe House passed a bill this year to create an income tax credit of up to $300 for the purchase of safes, trigger locks, other security devices or for the cost of gun safety courses. The Senate preferred a bill that would exempt safes and other security devices from state sales tax. Both bills failed after the chambers failed to reach agreement.

Democrats haven’t had much success on legislation that would have made it a crime to fail to secure firearms for children. Rep. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat, has promised to reinstate the this measure.

The House Speaker said he was open to other proposals, saying the House would “consider any reasonable idea and solution to protect and defend the most vulnerable among us – our children – while protecting the right and privilege of our citizens to protect their families and their property.”

Burns argued that previous school safety efforts reduced the number of casualties in Apalachee, helping to fund portable panic buttons that alerted responding authorities and school resource officers.

State lawmakers and Kemp previously approved several rounds of one-time security grants, totaling $184 million.

The budget, which began July 1, includes more than $100 million in permanent funding, enough to provide $47,000 a year to each public school for security. Schools can use that money for any security purpose they choose, though Kemp said he wants it to help fund one security officer for each school.