CNN Newsroom: Interview With State Rep. Teri Anulewicz (D-GA) About Gun Laws

Interview

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So I think where it goes from here -- and thank you for having me on to talk about this and to talk about what I'm hearing and seeing on the ground here in Georgia. I think what happens next is we need to, as citizens, as the normal workaday Georgians who want to see these commonsense gun measures that the Democratic Party is asking for, to continue to keep urging not just the governor but also their state representatives, their state senators, the speaker of the House, and the lieutenant governor, who can also call this special session if three-fifths agree.

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So two very different answers. The three things that we are asking for are, you know, again, commonsense gun reform policy measures that are supported overwhelmingly by people in Georgia, people in the United States. And these are universal background checks. These are pediatric safe storage laws like Representative Michelle Au's bill that she had a hearing but not a vote for this year.

There are bill like red flag bills that would keep -- you know, things that would keep guns, for example, out of the hands of people who have been convicted of domestic violence. You know, we want people, if they are in danger of hurting themselves, they might be in danger of hurting someone else.

We want to make sure that law enforcement is able to make sure that those folks don't have access to guns that they could use to hurt themselves or others. So these are simple things. The likelihood unfortunately right now in Georgia, I think, is very slim. We know that in Tennessee, of course, right to the north of us, Republican Governor Lee has said that he is going to have a special session to have this conversation so that the legislature can have these policy discussions.

In Georgia, we're not having these policy discussions. In Georgia, you know, the hearing for Michelle Au's bill this year was the first hearing that had happened in six years. Six years prior was former State Senator Jen Jordan's bill which would have again addressed the issue of those convicted of domestic violence being able to have guns.

It passed that Senate committee unanimously. Republicans and Democrats on that committee, they all voted for it. And then she was told it's not going to make it to the floor because we have these gun lobby organizations. They're very, very ardent. They're very, very far to the right. They don't reflect the views and the opinions of normal Georgians, but they have a loud voice with a lot of these Republican representatives and senators and with the governor unfortunately.

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I think it's going to take -- I mean, I hope it's not going to take more tragedies, right? Like I hope it's not going to take more shootings in doctors' offices, which then have the ripple effect of lockdowns not just in midtown Atlanta, but my children's school. We live in the area that the gunman fled to, so my kids' high school was on a lockdown. The middle school was on a lockdown. All the soccer practices were canceled that evening.

So when you're talking about these mass shooting events, they're impacting far more than even the people who were directly involved. They are shutting down entire communities. They are putting entire communities in jeopardy. And so I think we as citizens, you know, we as legislators need to continue to put the pressure on the governor, continue to ask why not? Why won't you have these conversations? And citizens need to continue to ask their lawmakers, why aren't you willing to have these conversations?

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Jim, thank you.

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