Senate bills on firearms offer ‘glimmer of hope’ for safer world
Political Insider columnist Patricia Murphy (“Other deaths on campus also need attention,” AJC, March 10) rightly points out the “other” deaths, particularly the high number of young people who die by suicide.
There is a glimmer of hope from this session of the state Legislature in Senate Bill 522, introduced by Democratic Senators Elena Parent and Sally Harrell, is due to get a hearing before the Senate Committee on Public Safety today. SB 522 allows voluntary listing on the ‘Do Not Sell” list of firearms.
A full-fledged red-flag law would be better, but evidently, that is too hard right now. If the committee favors it, perhaps a way can be found to vote on it this session since SB 522 did not get through Crossover Day. That kind of thing takes a certain skill set, but it certainly exists.
Senate Bill 340 (exempting firearms safes and gun safety devices from sales and use tax), introduced by Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, provides another glimmer of hope. This one did make it through Crossover Day.
These are small steps but signal hope for a safer world.
ALIDA C. SILVERMANN, ATLANTA
Stop ‘America First’ change on Georgia license plates
The Georgia Legislature wants to offer specialty vehicle license plates with the tagline “America First.”
Really?
“America First” harkens back to pro-Nazi sentiment in the early 1930s in this country.
As an American citizen living in Georgia, I am sensitive to the antisemitic roots of this slogan and shocked that the state Legislature is even willing to consider it as a way to represent our state. I am calling on the governor and Legislature to prevent this from being implemented.
MELVIN R. MOORE, M.D., ATLANTA
