Georgia’s Medical Center Carnage: Cowardice and Money Explain A Lot
In a state where its leaders believe guns are too few and the laws that govern their possession and use too many, cowardice and cash will define the future
A single death is a tragedy, the death of a million a statistic, Josef Stalin said. As one of history’s greatest mass murderers, he knew a thing or two about the subject. Stalin wasn’t thinking of random violence, but for Americans who live with it there just might be a corollary to his quote. A mass shooting is a headline unless it happens in the doctors’ office where you sat a few days before.
The space, as the commercial real estate brokers would say, is five star. Bright, airy, with a panoramic view, the waiting room in midtown Atlanta features whimsical art, muted upholstery and mellow toned, wall-to-wall to make the décor on trend. Tragically its address is, too, after becoming the latest addition to the list of mass shootings breaking records in 2023.
The facts tell the all-too-familiar story. A psychotic patient late for an appointment, unable to get his meds, and unraveling used his semiautomatic to kill one woman and grievously wound four others. A 38-year-old mother of two arriving to see a doctor died instantly. The four wounded, two employees and two patients, have had multiple surgeries; three remain in intensive care. Their road back from the physical and mental trauma hasn’t even begun.
California, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, and now Georgia. The fatalities top 100 coast-to-coast. The Associated Press and USA Today have kept mass shooting statistics for two decades. As number 20 in 2023, Atlanta’s medical office murder and assaults bring the total to its highest level in the first four months of any year since 2005. For a week a manhunt for the mass killer in Texas held the front page. Like his tale, Atlanta’s story will soon recede below the fold.
Among what passes for political leadership in this country, the carnage has its catechism. Look up the victims and their locales. Children, music fans, supermarket shoppers, patients in a doctors’ office. Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Las Vegas, Buffalo, and now Atlanta. In Georgia, where the GOP controls the governor’s office and the legislature, the Republicans in charge have said nothing of substance. Powerless, Democrats are calling for the usual actions and being ignored.
The fact is, when it comes to guns, the Georgia GOP’s mantra—Second Amendment constitutional rights are inviolate—is as predictable as “Boiled Peanuts” signs beside its country roads. Ask about the consequences, of course, and the good ole boys’ mantra becomes a mumble. The state has one of the highest firearm mortality rates in the country: Georgia ranks 15th out of 50 states in most firearm deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The absolute number of bodies: at 1897 in 2022 the state stands number four for gun-related suicides and homicides in the nation.
To give credit where it’s due Georgia’s leaders are working to make those numbers better. In April 2022, Governor Brian Kemp signed a “constitutional carry” law eliminating all licensing requirements when buying a gun. Overwhelmingly supported by his GOP legislative majority, the bill passed on April Fool’s Day. “We live in precarious times,” Republican Representative Mandi Ballinger, its sponsor, said. “There’s evil in the world. We need to protect ourselves.”
Ballinger might think about the medical office. Signs at the entrance to Northside Hospital’s midtown building prohibit firearms on the premises. But after all, it’s Georgia and as the saying goes, who knew? Governor Kemp’s signature on Ballinger’s April Fool’s law also deep-sixed any licensing requirement to carry a concealed weapon. Indeed, whatever his psychiatric problems, Delon Patterson, the shooter, didn’t have to answer any questions before he arrived in the waiting room. Gun hidden in his pocket, backpack or belt, he was well within his rights.
Anyone can carry a concealed weapon virtually anywhere in Georgia without an examination of their record. Add to that, if you discover someone toting has, say, a mental problem, applying a commonsense solution to protect the troubled soul or the public will be an uphill fight. Georgia has no red flag law, a form of protective order that allows police to remove individuals’ firearms if a judge finds they are a risk to themselves or others. Even Patterson’s mother, who told the media her son was deeply disturbed, would struggle to get a judge to take away his gun.
Governor Kemp and the state’s Republicans obviously will offer their heartfelt thoughts and prayers, reminding along the way that there is a constitutional right involved. To be sure, only coincidentally Georgia now hosts 74 companies that make hunting rifles, shotguns, pistols, semi-automatic military style rifles, parts, accessories and ammunition. As Kemp’s economic development department notes, that puts Georgia among the top ten weapons manufacturing states in the country.
Guns are an important industry and, as the state’s GOP can testify, their makers can show their love. Georgia’s Republicans got their share of the $2.7 million donated to Republican congressional campaigns in 2022 (the total for Democrats was $16,000). Gun makers didn’t stint at the state level either. Daniel Defense, the company that made the assault weapon used in the Uvalde Texas school massacre, donated $50,000 to Governor Kemp’s 2022 re-election campaign, matching their generosity in 2018. Keep an eye on Remington Arms. They announced their move to Georgia last year.
Will the carnage in the waiting room atop Atlanta’s midtown medical center matter? As Amy St. Pierre’s husband, children, parents, and friends grieve for her loss, and Lisa Glynn, Georgette Whitlow, Jazzmin Daniel, and Alesha Hollinger begin their long journey to heal, expect Georgia’s GOP to murmur their mantra and move on. In a state where its leaders believe guns are too few and the laws that govern their possession and use too many, cowardice and cash will define the future, including the tragedies waiting to come next.