Atlanta Archbishop Hartmayer calls for end to gun violence

ATLANTA - With summer, comes more crime. It’s a statistical fact not just in Atlanta, but across the country.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta has weighed in on the gun violence epidemic.

Archbishop Gregory John Hartmayer, and other faith leaders from nearby states, want lawmakers to do more.

"To do nothing is to be complacent in the violence," Most Rev. Hartmayer said.

That’s why the archbishop and surrounding bishops are making a bold demand when it comes to guns.

"Public officials must put into practice common sense reforms: a total ban on assault weapons, universal background checks for all gun purchases," Hartmayer said.

The archbishop also calls for an increase in checks for mental health is key as well.

"We have had to collectively mourn the deaths of nearly 700 children," Hartmayer said. "The accessibility of firearms presents an immediate threat to the wellbeing of children’s and families impacted by domestic violence and those individuals with mental illness."

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North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia are all in the same province as the faith leaders came together at the Cathedral of Christ the King on Tuesday afternoon.

"We cannot and will not stand by and silently accept that tens of thousands of people dying by gun violence each year is simply part of life in the United States," said Hartmayer.

The archbishop called upon parishioners to contact their local lawmakers and express concerns as well.