The Georgia House adopted a resolution Monday to encourage more warnings about celebratory gunfire, such as the shot that killed a 4-year-old DeKalb County boy in the first few minutes of 2010.
House Resolution 341 urges governments and private groups to help educate about the dangers and consequences of such actions. The measure, which passed 139-23, also charges the House with studying and implementing tougher sanctions for those who fire into the air and injure or kill others.
“This incredibly reckless form of celebration often occurs during holidays,” said the resolution's sponsor, Rep. Michele Henson, D-Stone Mountain. “There is little thought to the serious consequences.”
Among those consequences was the Jan. 1, 2010, death of Marquel Peters, who was killed sitting next to his mother at church after a bullet fired into the air came down through the roof and struck him in the head.
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