This is not an anti-2nd Amendment movement. We are looking at sensible gun reform that respects the 2nd Amendment.
The youth of Georgia amazes me. About three weeks ago we started planning to host the Northeast Georgia March for Our Lives event. We were apprehensive about bringing a gun reform program to Habersham. In the weeks since the Parkland, Florida, shooting we have seen attitudes change. Over 170 individuals from Northeast Georgia came together in solidarity to speak of sensible gun reform needed by our elected representatives.
For more than one hour we listened to students from high school and colleges tell of the need to go to school in an environment where they do not worry if someone is going to march into their class and start shooting. Students today call themselves, ‘the Mass Shooting Generation’. On Saturday they spoke loudly and said “Enough is Enough.”
Local teachers spoke about children asking them, ‘Am I going to be safe in school?” and ‘If a shooting starts will you protect me?’
Our teachers have an important job to do in teaching our children. Leave the protection of our children to the professional law enforcement.
People take a side on this issue without listening to the full information being given. Now is the right time to have a serious conversation with one another and our elected representatives about guns. This is not an anti-2nd Amendment movement. We are looking at sensible gun reform that respects the 2nd Amendment.”
We are asking lawmakers to:
- Expand background checks on all gun purchases
- Limit capacities of gun magazines
- Ban bump stocks and gun silencers
- Close the gun show loopholes
- Facilitate better coordination between law enforcement agencies regarding gun violence incidences
- Ensure individuals with a history of domestic violence, felonies and mental illness cannot legally purchase a gun
- Allocate more government funding for mental health and addiction recovery centers
- Provide continued support for School Resource Officers at all public schools
Times are changing. Now is the time to seriously discuss and act on sensible gun regulations with our elected officials. Our children’s future and safety depends on it.
About the author: Virginia Webb is the current chairwoman of the Habersham County Democratic Party. Virginia is a volunteer with several organizations in N.E. Georgia. She and her husband are semi-retired and live in Clarkesville, Georgia.
