Johnathan Walker:‘Some friends say I’m crazy': After school shooting, gun owners rethink Georgia's laws

Rep. Mike Collins’ community was rocked by the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history on Johnathan WalkerSept. 4. Two days later, the Republican representative stood before a crowd of mourners in his district and declared: “I don’t think you can legislate evil and hate away.”

But some residents of Winder, a rural town of 18,300 people that falls between Athens and Atlanta, disagreed with that sentiment. They believed that gun legislation could have made a difference for the four people – two children and two teachers – murdered at Apalachee High School by 14-year-old Colt Gray.

Standing under a drizzle at Friday’s candlelight vigil, Winder native John George questioned why anyone would need an assault rifle like the AR-style weapon used in the shooting.

“Some friends, you know, say that I’m crazy. But I think assault weapons should be banned,” George told USA TODAY. “What do you need assault weapons for unless you’re going to be hunting people?”

Nearby parent, Guillermo Rosco, agreed: “Sometimes I think gun regulation is the answer.”

Though George is a supporter of the Second Amendment and a gun owner himself, he believes that “there could be changes” that start with banning assault rifles.

But making those changes is an uphill battle in Georgia, where the gun lobby’s influence in politics and culture looms large.

Gun safety measures stall out in Georgia

While shots rang out at Apalachee High School on Wednesday, multiple teachers pressed the panic button on their badges. Once activated, they alert local law enforcement and provide officers with the precise location of the emergency.

The panic buttons are part of the Barrow County school district’s emergency response plan and had only been in use “for about a week” prior to the shooting, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told press.

Unlike other states, Georgia does not require public schools to have a mobile panic button system in place. A version of Alyssa’s Law, a nationwide initiative that would require all Georgia public schools to implement a panic button system, was originally introduced to the legislature in 2023. But the bill was killed off in the Republican-majority House this year.

Other gun safety measures have floundered in the Georgia legislature in 2024. The House and Senate each passed a measure that would have waived the sales tax on the purchase of gun safes and trigger locks, giving gun owners a financial incentive to secure their firearms. But lawmakers could not come to a consensus by the end of the legislative session and the bill was tabled.

Everytown for Gun Safety ranks Georgia as number 46 of 50 for the strength of its gun laws, describing the state’s measures as “some of the weakest” in the country.

Aricka Crossley, a Barrow County resident for 13 years and gun owner, believes Georgia’s gun laws are out of touch with the needs of the community – and believes leaders across the political spectrum are to blame.

“If there were better safeguards in place, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Crossley said. “I feel like it’s not about the blue or the red. I think in the state of Georgia, we don’t address the necessary issues because of how it’s going to sway the vote and who it keeps in office.”

With the shooting in Winder, she believes Georgia is now seeing the results of its laissez-faire approach to gun safety.

In an interview with the Jackson County Sherriff’s Department last year, Colt Gray’s father, Colin Gray, assured officers that his son did not have “unfettered access” to the guns in his home. Officers did not check whether the guns were locked in a safe, as the elder Gray had suggested.

Just 16 months later, Colt Gray would gun down four people at his high school.

Georgia’s gun-toting governor

For his part, Gov. Kemp is an enthusiastic supporter of gun rights. He campaigned heavily on protecting access to firearms and has continued his advocacy throughout his two terms as governor.

During his campaign for governor in 2018, Kemp released multiple ads that showed him surrounded by an arsenal of handguns and rifles. In one ad, he’s seen talking with a teenage boy, shotgun pointed toward him. In another, a fireball explodes behind him as he explains that he is the “politically incorrect” candidate.

In 2021, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave Georgia a failing grade on gun control. Kemp boasted the nonprofit’s rating, declaring, “I’ll wear this ‘F’ as a badge of honor.”

But Kemp’s biggest gift to the gun lobby came in the form of Georgia’s “constitutional carry” law.

In 2022, Kemp signed a bill into law that expanded gun rights, allowing Georgians over the age of 18 to purchase a gun without a license. They don’t need to register their gun with the government, submit fingerprints, or undergo a background check. The gun can be carried out in the open or concealed.

An investigation from 11Alive found that Kemp accepted a $25,000 donation from the CEO of Daniel Defense, Inc., a Texas-based gun manufacturing company, right before signing the bill into law. He also received another $25,000 during his 2018 bid for governor.

Crossley voted Republican in the last election. This year, she’s undecided, as are many of her friends. She believes neither party is “coming to anybody’s rescue.”

“The gun lobbies are very powerful here in Georgia. And they are going to vote Republican, even if they know it’s wrong,” Crossley said. “Somebody has to step up and be the bigger person to help America. Because we shouldn’t have another Sandy Hook. We shouldn’t have another Apalachee.”

Melissa Cruz is an elections reporting fellow who focuses on voter access issues for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.