‘The time is now’: Georgia Democrats call for special session to address gun violence

Supporters for gun regulations and Georgia Democrats stand on the South Steps of the Capitol calling for a special session to address gun violence on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 in Atlanta. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

For people seeking to tighten gun laws in Georgia, the task comes down to changing Republican minds or changing the Republican majority.

The magnitude of that challenge was clear Wednesday, as Democrats and more than 100 people who want to change state government’s permissive attitude on guns rallied at the state Capitol. House Democrats released a letter signed by 71 of their members calling for a special session to consider legislation they say would reduce gun violence.

The crowd was angry, shouting “Now! Now! Now!” after a shooting last week in an Atlanta doctor’s office that killed one woman and wounded four others, and a shooting in Moultrie where a man killed his mother, grandmother and workplace manager before killing himself.