Georgia advocates react to calls for new gun laws after shootings
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio have reignited the debate over gun control across the country and in Georgia.
On Twitter and in a televised address Monday, President Donald Trump called for stronger background checks for firearms purchases and the passage of "red flag laws," which allow family members or law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove guns from someone who they believe may be a danger to themselves or others.
"This is a national issue and we're in a state of a national emergency that it needs to be done," said Sharmaine Brown, a member of the gun safety group Moms Demand Action's Georgia chapter. "It needs to happen now."
The advocacy group supports both red flag laws and universal background checks.
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"Background checks don't work and all you're doing is you're adding another layer of government control over people," said Jerry Henry, executive director of GeorgiaCarry.org, a gun rights advocacy organization.
In both El Paso and Dayton, law enforcement officials said the shooters had purchased their guns legally.
Henry also disagreed with the idea of "red flag" or "extreme risk laws," because he said it is impossible for people to know what another person may be thinking. In addition, he believes those regulations violate the Constitution.
"It does away with due process which is part of our constitutional rights. We're not supposed to be deprived of any property without due process and that's exactly what that would do," Henry explained.
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But Brown, who lost her son to a stray bullet in 2015, said she will continue to fight for gun safety regulations.
"This is definitely a marathon and not a sprint and with our continued work, I believe for sure that change will come," said Brown.