Georgia lawmakers push for waiting period to buy guns following Asian spa shootings

ATLANTA — There are now calls for stronger gun controls laws in Georgia following last week’s Asian spa shootings.

It’s just the latest call for change in the wake of the deadly attacks.

“It seems the lethal mix of hate and firearms makes it so much more painful and so much more deadly,” said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

“I don’t understand what it would do to change his mind from killing those people,” said Jerry Henry, executive director of Georgia Carry.

Less than a week ago, a gunman killed eight people after he opened fire at three metro Atlanta Asian spas. Six of the eight people killed were Asian women. Police charged Robert Long, 21, with murder.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Could you see more money in your paycheck? Kemp signs bill to cut Georgians’ taxes
• Baby, adult killed in hit-and-run crash on I-85; 4 more children injured
• “Turn yourself in. It’s beyond time.” Ex-wife of missing financial adviser wanted by FBI speaks out

Channel 2 Action News learned Long purchased a gun on the same day he allegedly committed the mass shooting.

“We need reasonable gun reform in our country,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, in an interview on Meet the Press on Sunday.

He compared the access to guns to the access to vote in Georgia.

“This shooter was able to kill all of these folks the same day he was able to purchase a firearm. But right now, what is our legislature busy doing? They’re under the Gold Dome in Georgia trying to prevent people from voting the same day that they register,” Warnock said.

Now, there is a new push for longer waiting periods when it comes to purchasing a gun in our state.

Channel 2′s Audrey Washington asked advocates on both sides Monday about the effort.

“I don’t see why you would want to change anything. People who commit crimes are going to commit crimes,” Henry said.

“If we care about getting rid of armed hate then we will then have to care about and work towards better gun regulation in Georgia,” Horwitz said.

Some Asian American and Pacific Islander lawmakers have introduced bills in the General Assembly in response to the mass shooting. Those bills would create a five-day waiting period for purchasing a gun in Georgia.

Leaders in Asian community calling for more sensitivity in discussing spa shooting victims

Cox Media Group