Sample Op-Ed: Protect Victims, not guns

By: Zoe Flores

On April 1, 2015, Jenea Harvison and her brother, Donell McDonald, were shot dead in the parking lot of one of their daycare businesses by Jenea's estranged husband. Jenea's husband was abusive towards her. Jenea's story is disturbing yet familiar.

Female victims of domestic violence are five times more likely to be murdered if their abuser has access to a gun. Abusers should not have access to guns, regardless of lawmakers' interpretation of the constitution.

In Georgia, individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or subjected to domestic violence protective orders can legally obtain firearms or ammunition. This ruling contradicts federal law.

The obsession with protecting second amendment rights is dangerous. When abusers can legally obtain guns, they threaten one's right to life. I am not arguing to take one's right to bear arms away; I want to protect victims and ensure that dangerous individuals do not legally gain access to guns.

In 2020, 42,031 family violence incidents were reported to law enforcement in Georgia alone. Firearms were the cause of 85% of deaths in family-violence-related fatalities in Georgia in 2021. These numbers are disturbing to look at. If more than half of family-violence fatalities are due to firearms, wouldn't it make sense to make it so abusers cannot legally obtain guns?

When guns are present in situations of domestic violence, it threatens the victim and others. A study involving intimate partner homicides across 16 states found one in five victims were family members, children, friends, persons who intervened, first responders, and strangers. Furthermore, many law enforcement officers find intimate partner violence incidents the most dangerous assignments because of the abuser's likeliness of using a gun. It should disturb one to see even law enforcement, people we trust to protect us, find domestic violence calls scary because of firearms.

Protecting victims of domestic violence is not a partisan issue; it is a moral issue. It is unjust our state legally allows abusers to obtain firearms. It also doesn't follow federal law. Victims in Georgia are at a higher risk because our lawmakers are obsessed with making a statement about second amendment rights. How can you feel morally right advocating for second amendment rights over one's right to live? 

Victims of intimate partner violence deserve our protection, and allowing abusers to obtain guns easily puts them at risk. As a state, we must do better. I urge you to contact your state representative and push them to advocate to prohibit individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or subjected to protective orders from being unable to obtain firearms or ammunition.

Beth Ready- Beth Ready serves as the board of directors president for the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence is Georgia's federally recognized domestic violence coalition, representing over 53 domestic violence organizations across Georgia.