New poll takes temperature of Georgia parents on gun policy ideas
Today’s highlights include:
- Georgia Supreme Court stays ruling to remove an independent candidate from the state’s presidential ballot.
- Opponents of an Atlanta law enforcement training facility plan to gather at City Hall.
- Republican vice presidential nominee — U.S. Sen. JD Vance — to speak at Georgia evangelical event.
A fresh debate over gun safety policy is poised to be one of the most pressing issues before the Georgia Legislature when lawmakers reconvene next year. A new poll from a Republican-aligned firm could provide a blueprint for their plans.
A Cygnal poll obtained by your Insiders found a broad consensus among parents for increasing mental health services (71%), enforcing “severe” consequences for students who threaten mass violence (69%) and parents who “enable” them (59%) and training fully armed school safety officers (65%).
Rather than poll registered or likely voters, the Cygnal team surveyed 518 Georgia parents of K-12 students. The margin of error for the poll is 4 percentage points.
The focus on gun safety comes after four people were killed and nine others wounded in a shooting at a Northeast Georgia high school earlier this month. After what the FBI is calling an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life — which occurred Sunday at his Florida golf club — attention on the nation’s gun laws and mental health services may increase.
House Speaker Jon Burns took an initial step last week when he outlined a series of proposals to expand mental health access, crack down on school shooting threats and give state-backed incentives for people buying safety mechanisms. The new poll from Cygnal offers a glimpse of where the debate could go next.
Other more divisive policies had less support in the poll, such as raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm (42%) and banning all assault rifles (36%), as well as GOP-backed proposals to allow teachers to carry weapons (40%) or end “gun free zones” (19%).
An overwhelming majority (88%) say that students who threaten to “shoot up a school” should face expulsion, arrest or other consequences. The same proportion says that parents should be informed by school officials when such a threat is made.
A slight majority (52%) say that more school boards should allow teachers to carry firearms on campus, echoing a push by Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. About one-third oppose the idea, including about 22% who strongly disagree.
“Peach State parents and guardians believe that by treating threats seriously, demanding accountability and enhancing communication between law enforcement and educators, we can ensure that classrooms are ripe for learning – not violence,” said Brent Buchanan, Cygnal’s president and pollster.
You can dive into the crosstabs here. And stay tuned for fresh polling from the AJC soon.
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GOOD MORNING. We’re 49 days away from the presidential election. The future vice president of the United States, one way or the other, will be in Georgia this week. Republican JD Vance speaks tonight at a Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition event. And Democrat Tim Walz will campaign in Atlanta and Macon on Tuesday.
Here are four things to know today:
- Former President Donald Trump was targeted in what the FBI called “an attempted assassination” while golfing in Florida on Sunday. Authorities have a man in custody. Trump wrote in an email to supporters that “I AM SAFE AND WELL!” and “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
- Lt. Gov. Burt Jones won’t be charged in Georgia’s election interference case. Prosecutor Pete Skandalakis — who stood in for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis because she had a conflict of interest — said Jones “did not act with criminal intent.” Jones celebrated, but took some shots at Willis, saying she “wasted millions of taxpayer dollars trying to weaponize our judicial system.” The AJC’s Tamar Hallerman and Bill Rankin were first to report the story.
- Speaking of Willis, she skipped a state legislative hearing on Friday despite a subpoena requiring her to appear. Her no-show will prompt a court fight, the AJC’s Hallerman also reported (she was busy on Friday).
- Georgia was named the top state for business for an 11th straight year by Area Development Magazine. A giddy Gov. Brian Kemp made the announcement on Friday during a workforce summit at the Georgia World Congress Center. Now, Kemp says Georgia needs to make sure it has enough workers for these jobs, the AJC’s Zachary Hansen reported.
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RUNNING MATES. Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance’s speech in Atlanta tonight will be the Republican vice presidential candidate’s first major remarks since the Sunday’s incident which the FBI called an apparent “assassination attempt” against former President Donald Trump.
Vance will headline the annual gala for the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition, the conservative evangelical organization that is mounting an impressive get-out-the-vote operation for the GOP ticket.
It also will mark something of a kumbaya moment, since Gov. Brian Kemp will also appear at the same event. It will be the first time Kemp has stumped with Vance this election cycle.
Trump famously tried to oust Kemp in 2022 because he refused to go along with the false notion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. They’ve been frosty with each other ever since. Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp both said they did not vote for Trump during Georgia’s Republican presidential primary
After a year or so of relative calm, Trump revived the feud at an Atlanta rally in August when he bashed Kemp and the first lady. But both sides have since tried to smooth things over — and Vance appears to have played a role.
Vance’s event is the first of back-to-back visits to Georgia this week from presidential running mates. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ pick for the No. 2 job, plans stops in Macon and Atlanta on Tuesday.
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PETITION ANNIVERSARY. When trying to put a referendum on the ballot, it’s generally not a good sign when supporters hold an event to mark the one-year anniversary of submitting their petition.
But that’s the reality for people who are angry about Atlanta building a massive law enforcement training center. Their petition to force a referendum that could block the project has been tied up in court, and all sides have been waiting nine months for a decision.
Opponents will gather today at Atlanta City Hall to send a message that they haven’t given up, the AJC’s Riley Bunch reported. Meanwhile, city officials are moving forward. The training center could open later this year.
Opponents have dubbed the sprawling, $90 million complex “cop city,” saying it represents the militarization of law enforcement to the detriment of vulnerable communities.
A few years ago, their arguments were in vogue with the left following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, which bolstered the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted a reevaluation of how the U.S. pays for policing. Even Vice President Kamala Harris, then a U.S. senator, spoke in support of reformers’ push to “defund the police,” which she meant as a way to “reimagine how we are creating safety.”
Harris has since distanced herself from those ideas, as have many of her Democratic contemporaries since the political winds have changed in light of a perceived increase in crime. Georgia’s violent crime rate has fluctuated, while its property crime rates have steadily decreased since 2012, the AJC’s Caroline Silva reported.
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NOT YET. Independent presidential candidate Cornel West isn’t disqualified from Georgia’s presidential ballot yet.
The Georgia Supreme Court issued an order Sunday that stayed a lower court’s ruling that knocked him off the ballot pending a final decision on the merits of the case.
Meanwhile, Claudia De la Cruz — the nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation — is telling supporters to “vote their conscience,” even if that means their vote might not count in Georgia.
De la Cruz and West were both disqualified from the ballot last week by a state judge. But because the decision came so close to the election, their names could still appear on ballots. If that ruling stands, any vote for De la Cruz or West in Georgia won’t be counted.
De la Cruz vowed to appeal the ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court and said she is “very confident” she will win.
“We knew they were going to challenge us,” De la Cruz told the crowd of supporters at the Clarkston Community Center on Friday, according to the AJC’s Caleb Groves. “We’re not naive. We didn’t come into this fight thinking that they were going to be sweet to us.”
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LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia‚” the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman joins us to discuss the latest developments in the election interference case. The AJC’s Michael E. Kanell discusses the economy. And Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Republican Donald Trump’s campaign, on why Trump decided not to debate Harris again.
You can listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us.
On Friday’s show, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, discussed the possibility of another government shutdown. Then AJC contributor Meagan Hanson talked about Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s upcoming Georgia visit.
***
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will deliver remarks at the 2024 National HBCU Week Conference in Philadelphia.
- The House returns Tuesday.
- U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff will convene a hearing of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights in Atlanta focused on the impacts of Georgia’s six week abortion ban.
- The U.S. Senate has confirmation votes lined up.
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ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. We’re 49 days away from the election. Here’s what’s happening:
- U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, state Rep. Miriam Paris, D-Macon, and a local nurse will hold a news conference in Macon to highlight Harris’ health care agenda.
- Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington in hopes of securing the group’s endorsement.
- Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to debut a new cryptocurrency platform called World Liberty Financial.
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CONDOLENCES. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Craig Foster, a state policy adviser for roughly two decades who died on Friday.
Foster was the top aide to Department of Human Services Commissioner Candice Broce. Previously, he had worked as a senior adviser to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and a policy analyst for the House Budget and Research Office.
A Paulding County native, Foster spearheaded the implementation of foster care and adoption legislation. Broce called him her “fiercest ally and a solid friend who was a stranger to no one.”
“His loved ones are devastated. But we can’t forget to celebrate his life — selfless, happy, and well-lived — and comfort his family. His son, Brody, was Craig’s proudest accomplishment.”
Visitation will take place on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Benson Funeral Home in Dallas, Georgia, followed by a celebration of Foster’s life. There’s also a GoFundMe account to support his son’s college fund.
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SHOUTOUTS. Birthday weekend:
- State Rep. Charlice Byrd, R-Woodstock, was on Saturday.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
About the Authors
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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