‘End gun violence’: Georgia candidates condemn deadly synagogue shooting

Her opponent, Republican Brian Kemp, condemned the “deranged killer” who opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill community Saturday but made no mention of the debate over gun rights.

“We stand with the Jewish community against violence, hate and bigotry,” he added. “Our prayers are with the victims and their families.”

Authorities say a man armed with three pistols and a semiautomatic rifle burst in through an open door at the synagogue during Sabbath prayers screaming anti-Semitic slurs as he fired his weapons.

It was the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history.

Second Amendment issues loom large in next week's elections. Kemp sports the NRA's endorsement and has promised to expand gun rights, including support for a new sales tax holiday on guns and ammunition. He often tells campaign crowds that he'll champion their right to bear arms.

Abrams has broken from decades of conventional Democratic strategy in Georgia by calling for new firearms restrictions. She often says such limits are now in the mainstream, pointing to polls that show broader support for new regulations.

The gun rights debate also factors in Georgia’s competitive 6th District race. Republican Rep. Karen Handel said the nation “will not accept attacks on our synagogues, our churches, our temples or our mosques.”

“I stand with the community of the Tree of Life Synagogue today,” she added, “and united against those who espouse religious bigotry of any kind.”

Her opponent, Democrat Lucy McBath, is a vocal supporter of new gun restrictions whose son’s shooting death helped motivate her decision to run for the suburban Atlanta seat.

“An attack on the Jewish community is an attack on every single person of faith in this country,” she said. “I know deeply the pain this community is going through, and I refuse to accept this as normal.”

A host of other Georgia politicians have issued messages of support for the Jewish community.

At Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, former President Jimmy Carter decried the attack by a gunman who was “taught by some reason to hate Jews” and centered his Sunday school lesson on a message of equality.

"Every one of you in this moment has made a decision: this is the kind of person I want to be. I want you all to remember that,” he said. “No one but you decides the kind of person you are."

- Staff writer Arielle Kass contributed to this report from Plains.