ATLANTA — A gun safe storage bill survived its first legislative hurdle today when it passed out of a subcommittee.
It would give a tax break for the purchase of a gun safe or cable lock.
Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was at the state capitol, where a small legion of moms arrived to push their support for the bill.
Moms Demand Action is a grassroots effort trying to push for gun safety legislation.
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The bill for gun safe storage does that, and its Republican sponsor belives it does it without infringing on the Second Amendment.
Augusta Republican Mark Newton wrote the bill, and it didn’t take long for a Georgia House subcommittee to approve it, not even the five minutes it took to read the bill itself.
When Newton’s not working at the capitol as a lawmaker, he’s an emergency room doctor.
“Encouraging incentivization by letting you use part of your tax obligation to get a safe storage device, whether that’s a gun safe, cable locks or whatever, there’s a range of options out there that can do that,” Newton told Channel 2 Action News.
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For Newton, it’s not just about storing guns, but keeping kids safe. He said that 30% of teen gun deaths are from suicide and hopes that safe storage will make accessing those guns more difficult.
Newton’s bill gives tax breaks for safe storage devices and for gun safety training.
Meanwhile, across the street, Moms Demand Action groups from all over the state met to encourage support for the bill.
Diana Gregory, a member of Moms Demand Action, said she believes a safe storage bill is a way to move forward with gun safety across the state.
“Safe storage is just such an important foundation for gun violence in our state,” Gregory said. “Parents need to be making sure they’re locking up their guns that kids, their cousins, anybody coming cannot access it.”
Newton stressed that his bill doesn’t infringe on the Second Amendment and does not create a list or registry of the names of people buying these devices or storage items.
“We recognize that the right to defend yourself, to defend your children and your family is an integral part of our Bill of Rights,” Newton said.
The representative said he hopes to be able to win strong bipartisan support for the bill.
The bill filed by Newton is different from another version in the Georgia Senate, which provides for an 11-day tax holiday for gun safe storage devices, as well as firearms and ammunition.
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