Fulton Commissioners Support Firearm Restrictions

ATLANTA, GA — Fulton County commissioners have approved a resolution calling on the state and federal governments to ban the sale of assault-style weapons and tighten restrictions on firearm sales. The resolution, touted by Chairman Robb Pitts, passed 5-0 at the commission's March 7 meeting. Commissioners Liz Hausmann of District 1 and Bob Ellis of District 2 abstained from voting on the resolution.

The resolution also expresses sympathy with the victims of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, "while working to maintain the Second Amendment rights of Fulton County citizens," according to the county.

“We have a real opportunity to reduce gun violence and prevent mass killings,” Pitts said. “This is a time for leaders in government and business to come together for action. Young people are watching and waiting.”

The resolution specifically asks state and federal officials to:

• Ban the sale of “assault-style” weapons;
• Increase the minimum age for all gun sales to 21;
• End the sale of bump stocks and high-capacity magazines;
• Tighten restrictions for those with mental illness seeking to buy guns; and
• Strengthen background checks and create a universal database of those restricted from buying firearms.

Pitts also asked retailers to follow the lead of Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart, two of the nation’s largest gun sellers, who are already making changes to their firearms sales policies (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here).

In a statement outlining why he abstained from voting, Ellis told Patch he's previously said that local entities passing resolutions like Pitts' proposal that have no connection to local functions "is not an appropriate function of local government and generally comes across as local politicians trying to fancy themselves as baby federal and state legislators instead of focusing on best delivering the services that we are charged to deliver."

"This particular resolution falls into that category and as I have stated in the past, I’m not going to participate in them," he added.

While he is troubled by the prevalence of gun violence and mass shootings, Ellis added it will take every level of government to do what it can to end these incidents. Governments should review areas within their control and consider implementing necessary changes that would virtually eliminate the chances of these shootings from occurring. He also said gun control measures should be debated and considered at every level.

He also called on school systems and boards of education to review safety procedures and for the the county to "take a hard look at specific areas" within its control that could spur a mass shooting or prevent such an incident if operations are run correctly. Areas that come to Ellis' mind include behavioral health services, Juvenile Court, how law enforcement coordinate and respond if an event were to happen in Fulton and "other breakdowns in our justice process."

"These are not headline-type areas but they are the hard work that local government needs to be doing," he told Patch. "When I took office a little over three years ago, I found out how bad our behavioral health services were and have made improving these a principal area of focus of mine. It doesn’t generate TV coverage or press articles like the one you are writing, but it is the critical work that local government needs to be doing and needs to focus on in order to make a difference in the lives of our citizens."

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