Georgia GOP leader demands change after school shooting, but Democrats want more

ATLANTA— The speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives said lawmakers in 2025 will consider new rules aimed at supporting students’ mental health, detecting weapons and encouraging people to store guns safely after a shooting at a high school northeast of Atlanta that left four people dead.

But Republican Jon Burns of Newington has stopped short of advancing Democratic demands that include universal background checks, a safe-storage order and a “red flag” law that would allow the state to temporarily take guns away from someone in crisis.

The proposals unveiled Thursday by Burns are the first policy response to the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.

The Republican leader’s gambit comes as he tries to protect his party’s 102-78 majority in the state House in the November election. The disputes over gun policy could affect several competitive seats in Atlanta’s northern suburbs, including three held by Republican incumbents.

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

It’s unclear what kind of response other top Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, will expect. Kemp called the shooting “our worst nightmare” hours after the deaths of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Nine other people were injured — seven of them shot.

Democrats have sharply criticized Republicans, saying the shooting is a consequence of the party’s easing of gun laws in Georgia.

“What makes this even more devastating is the fact that we had the political tools to prevent this tragedy before it ever happened,” Rep. Saira Draper of Atlanta said Friday as she and fellow Democrats called for a special legislative session on gun violence. “And we didn’t use them because my fellow Republicans chose to risk the lives of our children rather than face the wrath of the gun lobby.”

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

Burns said he wants to consider sharing information between police, schools and mental health providers, referring to the fact that Colt and Colin Gray were questioned in 2023 by a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy about an online post threatening to shoot up a school. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said her office did not find enough evidence to file charges. It’s unclear whether Colt Gray’s previous schools were notified of the threats.

“We are aware that the breakdown in communication between the school systems and law enforcement officials allowed the shooter’s past to be erased during his transfer to Apalachee High School,” Burns wrote.

Speaker also said he wants to expand mental health care for college students. The state’s voluntary Apex program steers students toward counseling. The program is expected to reach 540,000 of Georgia’s 1.75 million college students in 2022-23, about 31%.

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

The speaker is proposing increased penalties for threats against schools, saying he wants to curb copycat threats seen since the shooting. The criminal penalties would apply only to people charged as adults, and most of those making the threats were arrested as juveniles.

Finally, Burns said House Republicans will once again promote safe storage of firearms. The House passed legislation this year to create a state income tax credit of up to $300 for the purchase of gun safes, trigger locks, other safety devices or the cost of firearms safety classes. The Senate preferred legislation to exempt gun safes and other safety devices from state sales tax. Both bills died because the chambers could not agree.

Democrats have gained little traction on legislation that would create a misdemeanor offense for negligently failing to secure a firearm that children have access to. Rep. Michelle Au, a Democrat from Johns Creek, has vowed to reintroduce the bill.

The speaker said he was open to other proposals, saying the House “will consider every 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 property.”

Burns argued that previous school safety efforts had reduced the number of casualties in Apalachee, which allowed funding to be provided for the purchase of portable panic buttons that notified authorities and school resource officers who responded to the scene.

State lawmakers and Kemp previously approved multiple rounds of one-time safety grants totaling $184 million.

The budget, which took effect July 1, includes more than $100 million in current funding, enough to provide each public school with $47,000 per year for security. Schools can use the money for security purposes of their choosing, although Kemp said he would like it to help cover the cost of hiring a security officer at each school.