The memories of the shooting at Apalachee High School are still fresh, and the daily toll of gun violence in Georgia continues. Georgia lacks common sense laws to require safe storage of firearms and keep these weapons out of the hands of those prone to violence and out of the hands of our youngest Georgians. I want to remind you that firearms are the leading cause of death in children and adolescents.

As a Georgia Clinician, I want to share with you my disappointment in the little attention given to meaningful gun violence legislation in the 2025 Georgia legislative session.

This past week, House Judiciary Committee inserted the language of SB 163 into SB 204, an unrelated bill dealing with district attorneys, and it passed out of committee. SB 204 would now drastically increase fees for local preemption of state laws. This amendment subverted the public comment process and unnecessarily punishes local jurisdictions and taxpayers. After the worst school shooting in Georgia history, punishing Savannah for passing a vehicular safe storage bill would make the legislature way out of touch with where the majority of Georgians are on gun safety. Please do not place SB 204 on the calendar for a full vote.