A.M. ATL: What this election could mean for gun sales

Happy Friday, y’all! Expect temperatures in the upper-80s, with maybe another stray thunderstorm later on.

It’s my last day in the A.M. cockpit, with your esteemed pilot Tyler Estep returning Monday — assuming his travel experience is better than that of Ayo Sekai.

It’s also Opening Ceremony day for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Join the roughly billion people who will watch former Atlanta resident Coco Gauff bear the flag at noon, and then the multi-billions (surely) who will be following all of the AJC’s Olympics coverage here. From all your Georgia representatives to tragic podcasts, we’ve got you covered. (Just in: Paris’ train system has been hit by seemingly “prepared and coordinated” arson attacks.)

We’re also packin’ some impressive Friday reads for you. And they start at the gun shop.

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HEAT CHECK

A quirky thing happens after failed assassination attempts: People feel the need to stock up on guns.

The deadly shooting earlier this month at former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is part of a head-spinning series of recent events that could goose Georgia’s growing firearms industry, writes the AJC’s Jeremy Redmon.

Among the factors at play: Fears of violence and uncertainty, a potentially tightening race with Kamala Harris now the likely Democratic nominee and the economy. Plus, sales have previously seen a bump if people think Democrats, who support stricter gun controls, could win the White House.

All this as U.S. gun sales have fallen substantially every year in Georgia and across the nation since spiking near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

• Mark Franklin, owner of Franklin Gun Shop in Athens: “If the election starts to swing one way or the other, I think we could see a change in sales. I hate to say this, but some of our best years were the Obama years… We saw an uptick after Biden won.”
• Eric Wallace, part owner of Smyrna’s Adventure Outdoors: “A lot of our customers are saying that if the Secret Service, which is known to be one of the best law enforcement agencies in the world, can’t protect a former president, how is our government going to protect us if something serious were to happen?”

There are also business ties to all this, as Georgia is considered among the top states for firearms manufacturing. More than a dozen gun-related companies relocated or expanded here in recent years, including Remington Firearms and Norma Precision. In all, the companies have invested upward of $200 million and created thousands of jobs, according to the state’s Economic Development Department.

On the other hand, last month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence in America a public health crisis, emphasizing it is now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents.

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MORE TOP STORIES

» Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris, giving her expected but crucial support

» Ex-Atlanta watershed official serving 4 years in prison seeks new trial

» Snapchat CEO must answer questions in GA crash lawsuit that left a man with brain damage

» Man killed in crash that closed I-20 in Cobb for hours

» Slain Buckhead restaurant owner remembered for hospitality, charity

COSTLY FAILURE

Evan Wainwright and his friend Cara Waiswilos, who worked at the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.

The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is a government organization that says its core mission is to help people with disabilities find and maintain jobs. But what Evan Wainwright says he got instead was a counselor who scoffed at his dream and would not respond to him for months at a time. He spent eight years unsuccessfully trying to get help.

It’s part of an investigation from the AJC’s Katherine Landergan, who found in an analysis of state and federal data, plus interviews with former counselors and clients, that the Georgia agency failed to help disabled people find work. There is so much here, and it’s definitely worth your time. But here is what you need to know.

• Findings: Fewer and fewer people who sought GVRA’s help found jobs, and those who did were often funneled into jobs as fast-food workers, janitors, stockers or cashiers. In fact, federal officials found that GVRA did not “prioritize the employment rate” among its participants, nor did the agency do much to encourage people to get vocational or occupational training or go to college, federal monitors found in a report issued in March.
• Cara Waiswilos, a former GVRA counselor: “It’s so broken right now, I don’t even know what it would take to fix it. I’m not mad anymore, I’m heartbroken.”
• Why it matters? On the key measure of employment, Georgia is among the worst performing states in the nation in recent years. Employees have also fled the agency, many fed up with crushing caseloads, leaving the agency staffed with key workers who have limited experience. The agency has also been forced to send back tens of millions of federal dollars that could have helped people who suffer from vision loss, are hearing impaired or have other physical, mental or emotional impairments.

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PEACH BACK IN PLAY

President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race has reshaped the political landscape in Georgia, with Vice President Kamala Harris now making the state competitive, writes the AJC’s Greg Bluestein in a compelling piece that looks at what the newest polling means and how Republicans now must shift their campaign machinery after years of pummeling Biden as aged.

• RELATED CONTENT: Polls showed many Americans wished their choice wasn’t Biden or Trump. Nedra Rhome asks: Are they ready for a woman?

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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

The Falcons have a lot riding on Kirk Cousins, and his right foot, this season.

The soon-to-be 36-year-old signed a four-year deal worth up to $180 million this offseason, even as he was rehabbing a right Achilles that was surgically repaired nine months ago.

So it was great for the Falcons when Cousins (who practiced with a Go Pro camera atop his helmet) declared on Day 1 of training camp practices that he’s ready to go full speed once the team picks up the tempo in the coming days. He is not expecting to play in exhibition games.

• Cousins said Thursday: “Obviously, in my situation, it’s great to be moving around in football cleats again and feeling stronger. Being able to compare it to six weeks ago, I feel much more athletic and much less pain. It’s just exciting to be back in it.”

Cousins has been watching film with safety Jessie Bates, a newfound leader of the team, writes Daniela Ramirez.

MORE IN SPORTS

» Atlanta United will face D.C. United for the third time this season when it hosts D.C. United in the Leagues Cup on Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here are the things to watch.

» A disastrous 10th inning sunk the Braves, which lost to the Mets, 3-2, last night.

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MORE TO EXPLORE

» Officials from Georgia’s largest school district said Thursday that they have no problem with paying to offer Advanced Placement African American Studies — if a few concerns are addressed. This Atlanta teacher, meanwhile, writes that denial of AP African American Studies echoes a “dark chapter.”

» This Chinese electric truck startup has plans to open a Georgia factory in 2025. But state and Savannah area officials say they are not involved with the project.

» A judge ruled that Cobb County’s electoral map is unconstitutional, that the primary elections conducted in May for County Commission Districts 2 and 4 will have to be redone, and that the November general election for those seats must be postponed.

» A 12-year-old girl reported missing nearly two months ago from her Hall County home has been found safe in another state.

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ON THIS DATE

July 26, 1922

A few months after the launch of WSB Radio, the Atlanta Journal used a front-page cartoon to declare it “the station that’s making Atlanta famous.” It could (reportedly) be heard in 36 states.

The first radio station to broadcast from Atlanta, WSB actually began as an offshoot of the Journal. Ohio Gov. James M. Cox and his family scooped both properties up in 1939.

The Atlanta Journal front page on July 26, 1922.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

The Associated Press’ Julio Cortez captured yesterday’s reaction of United States’ Mallory Swanson, left, after teammate Trinity Rodman, right, scored a goal during the squad’s 3-0 win against Zambia in Nice Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Swanson is married to former Braves and current Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson.

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