Apalachee High School Shooting Renews Calls for Gun Legislation

In an all-too-familiar scene that sickens all Americans, a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning claimed the lives of four people—two students and two teachers—and left nine others injured, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). The incident, which took place around 10:20 a.m., as expected has reignited the usual dash by some legislators, organizations and media to call for more gun legislation before those who were sadly lost have even been mourned. That it is an election year with the office of president on the line will only make such calls more vocal.

In the incident, unlike at Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people lost their lives and 17 others were injured at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2024, law enforcement, school administrators, teaches and even students in Winder were quick to respond, limiting the potential casualties. The suspected shooter, a 14-year-old student, was quickly apprehended after a brief confrontation with a resource officer. The shooter is set to be charged as an adult with murder. Authorities also arrested Colin Gray, the father of the shooter, on charges including involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder for his alleged role in allowing access to the firearm used in the attack, described as an “AR platform-style weapon.”

As investigators continue to gather information, political leaders have begun weighing in on the larger issue of gun violence. President Joe Biden, in an official statement from the White House, called the shooting “another horrific reminder” of the need for stricter gun laws, urging Congress to pass measures such as an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and safe storage requirements. Vice President Kamala Harris, caught up in the middle of a contentious presidential election, echoed these calls, decrying the ongoing “senseless tragedies” that plague American schools.

“It’s a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons and we’re going to make it better. We’re going to heal our world. We’re going to get rid of all these wars that are starting all over the place because of incompetence,” her opponent, former President Donald Trump said Wednesday during a Fox News Town Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp offered condolences to the victims’ families and promised to provide state resources to assist in the investigation, but his office has not commented on any potential policy changes in response to the shooting. Georgia, a state with relatively lax gun regulations, has faced increasing scrutiny for its laws following recent mass shootings. In 2022, Kemp signed legislation allowing residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit, which has drawn both praise and criticism in light of this most recent shooting.

Meanwhile, the Apalachee High School shooting has prompted further calls for legislative action at the state level. A Senate study committee on safe firearm storage was already scheduled to convene, with Democratic lawmakers pushing for stricter regulations that would require gun owners to better secure firearms, particularly in homes with children. Meanwhile, Republicans in the state government have largely focused on expressing condolences and emphasizing mental health and school safety measures over additional gun regulations.

Various organizations have also offered statements on the shooting, some better navigating the politics of the issue than others.

“Our hearts go out to the community of Winder, Georgia, during this difficult time,” said National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Executive Director L. Earl Franks, Ed.D., CAE. “At NAESP, we believe families of students at Apalachee High School—and in every single school across this country—deserve to send their children to school with the confidence that they will return home unharmed. That is the promise that every school makes to the students in its care, and NAESP will continue to advocate for policies that put children’s and educators’ safety first.”

Meanwhile,  Nick Wilson, senior director of Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress, made the most of his opportunity to call for legislation.

“I send my deepest condolences to all of the loved ones of the students whose lives were lost today, and to the many students who will live with the trauma of today’s attack for the rest of their lives. What happened at Apalachee High School today is not normal, but it is increasingly commonplace. Today’s shooting was the 218th shooting at a K-12 school this year. Children heading back to school should not live their lives in fear,” Wilson said in a statement. “While we are still learning details about the shooter and how the guns used in today’s attack were obtained, Georgia has some of the weakest gun laws in the country. And the risk of this type of attack has only increased since Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) signed a bill that repealed concealed carry permits in Georgia into law in 2022. Commonsense gun legislation saves lives. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Wilson’s numbers are questionable. A USA Today article put the number of shootings at 23, while another article placed the number at 45, both a far cry from 218. The various numbers reveal an obvious disregard for accurate data or at the very least, how to identify a set of data, when it comes to pushing an agenda. Wilson also used the oft-repeated buzzword of legislators seeking to pass gun laws by dressing it up with the label of “commonsense.” But such descriptions undermine the complexity of offering true solutions and serve to simply alienate and politicize a majority of stakeholders in the issue.

Other groups were quick to capitalize on grieving Americans to push more gun laws. The usual ones such as Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady organization and Giffords all offered their boilerplate statements on passing more laws to stem gun violence, while organizations such as The United States Conference of Mayors, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, the National Education Association, the New Jersey Education Association, the ill-named Alliance for Gun Responsibility, even some rando candidate running for U.S. Senate in Florida weighed in to make her political points.

Other groups felt compelled to also least weigh in with statements of support on the tragedy such as the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a Florida high school, Eustis High, among others. Silent on the issue to this point has been gun rights organizations, where a search of statements online revealed not a single one issued.

As the investigation continues, both sides of the gun debate are gearing up for what is likely to be an intense battle in the months ahead. But for now, the community of Winder is left grieving, as families mourn the loss of two students, 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.