ATLANTA – State Representatives Bee Nguyen (D-Atlanta), Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville) and Marvin Lim (D-Norcross), along with State Senators Michelle Au (D-Johns Creek) and Sheikh Rahman (D-Lawrenceville), today announced a series of bills in response to the recent shootings in the metro Atlanta region. These legislators plan to introduce correlating legislation in the House and Senate, and they issued the following statement:
“Together, we mourn the senseless loss of life from those so cherished, so important and so loved by their families and friends in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. We look to our history, and where this country has been, and we look forward to the change we need to see. As AAPI legislators in the Georgia Senate and House, we are committed to not only drawing attention to the issues our communities face, but enacting meaningful change through legislation to address them.”
House Bill 789 and Senate Bill 311 would direct the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to train members of law enforcement in community response, intervention and proactive outreach methods that are culturally and language accessible. These two bills are sponsored by Rep. Lim and Sen. Au, respectively.
Additionally, House Bill 787 and Senate Bill 308 would direct the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority to establish a language translation system within the state’s 9-1-1 Communications Center. These two bills are sponsored by Rep. Nguyen and Sen. Rahman, respectively.
House Bill 788 and Senate Bill 309 would require a five-day waiting period for the purchase of a firearm, notwithstanding the earlier completion of a background check by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Those in violation of selling or buying a firearm before the waiting period would be subject to a felony charge. These bills are sponsored by Rep. Park and Au, respectively.
Once these bills have been introduced in their respective chambers, the full text of each bill may be found on the General Assembly’s website at: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/all.
Representative Sam Park represents the citizens of District 101, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 and currently serves on the Higher Education, Industry and Labor, Intragovernmental Coordination and Small Business Development committees.
Representative Bee Nguyen represents the citizens of District 89, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2017 and currently serves on the Education, Governmental Affairs, Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight and Human Relations & Aging committees.
Representative Marvin Lim represents the citizens of District 99, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Agricultures & Consumer Affairs, Retirement and Special Rules committee.
Sen. Michelle Au represents the 48th Senate District which includes Duluth, Berkeley Lake, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Suwanee and Alpharetta. She may be reached at 404.463.1562 or via email at michelle.au@senate.ga.gov.
Senator Sheikh Rahman represents the 5th Senate District which includes portions of Lawrenceville, Norcross, Duluth, Tucker, Lilburn and Peachtree Corners. He may be reached at 404.463.1318 or by email at sheikh.rahman@senate.ga.gov.
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