Georgia school weapons detector bill clears Senate committee vote

ATLANTA - A proposal to mandate weapons-detection systems at every public school entrance in Georgia is one step closer to becoming law following an emotional hearing at the State Capitol on Monday.

What we know:

The State Senate Public Safety Committee on Monday unanimously approved House Bill 1023. The move comes in response to the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School that killed two students and two teachers.

"A place of nightmare"

What they're saying:

The committee heard harrowing testimony from Apalachee High School students who survived the gunfire. 

Daria Lezczynska, a junior, and Sasha Contreras, a senior, are members of "Change for Chee," a group advocating for increased school safety measures.

READ APALACHEE SHOOTING COVERAGE HERE 

"The place where we used to feel safe, turned into a place of nightmare," Lezczynska said through tears. 

She told the committee that the gunfire erupted directly outside her classroom. 

"The fear, the blood and the chaos that is burned into my memory," she said. 

Contreras, who was locked down inside the school with her mother during the attack, remembered a teacher who was gunned down that day.

 "I left feeling happy, not knowing it would be that last time," she said. "No child should step into school anxious about coming out alive."

A proactive step

The legislation, originally introduced by Georgia House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula, seeks to create a physical barrier against firearms entering school buildings.

"Ensuring that weapons cannot come into our public schools is a first step to make sure that students are safe," Efstration said. "Georgia students deserve to know that they’re going to be safe at school. Parents need to know when they drop their kids off at school in the morning, they’re going to be able to pick them up safe at the end of the day."

The student advocates believe the technology would have changed the outcome at Apalachee, where investigators say a student killed four people and injured seven others.

"If there had been weapons-detection systems in every place at every entry of the school on that day, that rifle never would have reached our hallways," Lezczynska said, calling the proposal a "very good bill."

Contreras added that the unanimous committee vote was a necessary step forward. 

"This is a proactive measure that I think is necessary," she said. "I'm glad that people today stepped up and were able to pass it."

What's next:

The bill now moves to the full Georgia Senate. Lawmakers have just over a week to pass the measure before the legislative session concludes.