In wake of Barrow County school shooting, lawmakers, advocates discuss safe firearm storage policies

Questions about firearms and safe storage are coming into the conversation in the aftermath of the Barrow County school shooting on Wednesday.

After the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School, some want to know if the rifle used by 14-year-old Colt Gray was safely stored and locked up.

Channel 2′s Justin Farmer spoke to lawmakers and community groups on Thursday who gathered at the Georgia State Capitol to discuss what could or should be done in Georgia when it comes to storing firearms, and where responsibility may lie when a child goes on a rampage.

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Right now, 26 states have child-access storage laws, but Georgia has not yet adopted similar policies.

As so many in the Barrow County community and beyond mourn the four people killed at Apalachee High School, Chelsea Piatt of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention says families need to better secure their firearms.

“Only 29% of firearm owners with minors practice secure storage,” Piatt told Channel 2 Action News.

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Statistics like that are catching the attention of Georgia lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“Something we’ll drill down on, looking at other states, Texas, Florida, have laws on the books limiting child access and having [a] penalty for those who allow children access to those weapons, less than half of what Georgia’s is,” State Sen. Emanuel Jones said.

Everyone who was at the gathering at the Capitol coalesced around the notion that there is no single way to look at solutions, and not all situations can be summed up similarly.

“We talk mental health problems, yes, but a lot of times when we catch people, they were just bad people,” DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos said.

As we saw in Michigan earlier this year, the parents of Ethan Crumley, a 15-year-old school shooter, were sentenced to 10 years in prison for what jury found to be their negligence.

According to KFF Health News, gun storage laws can reduce youth gun violence dramatically. Their research has found households that lock firearms and ammunition see up to 85% fewer unintentional injuries.

State storage laws also incentivize better practices, and researchers have found they not only reduce injuries, but also prevent death among young Americans.

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