The shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday that left four dead and at least nine injured brought back to the forefront a deep divide over even limited attempts to pass gun control legislation at a time when the nation’s political spotlight is attuned to Georgia.

And as Jones’ stalled proposal showed, it’s a policy debate that doesn’t always fit neatly along partisan lines.

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Georgia Republicans have gradually chipped away at firearms restrictions, including a 2022 law that lets Georgians carry concealed handguns without a permit. But some are split over whether to back new efforts to expand gun access or focus instead on bolstering security initiatives and mental health services.

Democrats, who have long advocated for stricter firearms regulations, have also shifted their strategy, aiming instead for more achievable goals in a Republican-led Statehouse where efforts to reverse permissive gun rules have foundered.

The party’s leaders haven’t abandoned their calls for tougher firearms restrictions. But they’re more likely to push for incentives for storage measures, such as tax incentives for people who buy firearm safes and other accessories designed to keep weapons from minors.

“This isn’t a time for thoughts and prayers. It’s a time for action,” said state Sen. Emanuel Jones, a suburban Democrat who is leading a study committee examining tax credits for safety devices, new crackdowns to deter gun thefts and other initiatives.

“It’s really unfortunate,” the senator said, “that we have to go through a mass shooting like this in our backyard where the Legislature has the power and authority to do something about it.”

‘It doesn’t have to be this way’

The mass shooting comes amid a tight race for the White House between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

It’s too early to determine how it might affect the trajectory of the campaign — if at all — in Georgia, one of a handful of states that can shape the outcome of the November race.

But President Joe Biden quickly highlighted the shooting to renew calls to ban AR-style weapons, mandate safe storage for guns and enact universal background checks. And at a rally in New Hampshire, Harris acknowledged that she went off script on Wednesday to address the shooting in Barrow County.

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

“This is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies,” Harris said, adding: “We’ve got to stop it. And we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in this country once and for all. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

In Georgia, Republicans focused their comments on the tragedy of the shooting rather than the policy debate that seems destined to intensify.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp called it a “day every parent dreads” and said the state would work closely with local and federal agencies in the aftermath of the deadly violence. Trump called the 14-year-old facing murder charges in the shooting a “sick and deranged monster.”

And Burt Jones, a likely GOP candidate for governor in 2026, spotlighted the $105 million for school safety measures that he and other legislative leaders backed in Georgia’s latest budget blueprint.

“There’s nothing more tragic than a school shooting. They happen far too frequently. I am for all rational ideas that might help solve this problem,” Jones said. “And I will continue to fight for the resources to do whatever necessary to protect our kids.”

Democrats say the prayers should have given way to concrete action years ago. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, whose son was murdered in 2012, amplified calls for new gun regulations during a high-profile speaking slot last month at the Democratic National Convention.

“Too many continue to experience the pain of gun violence,” she said. “No family should have to go through this.”