CNN Newsroom: Interview With Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA)

Interview

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Jim, I mean, it is -- it's heartbreaking because today is only the 127th day of the year, but we're approaching our 200th mass shooting. Like you said, like we haven't even reconciled everything that happened in Atlanta, why it happened, and here we are looking at the news out of Texas. And I said last night texting one of my friends and like, is that the outlet mall that we went to? And all of these incidents are hitting so close to home.

And when is it going to break through to my Republican colleagues that we have to do something? We are responsible for what is happening in our country as the leaders.

And my colleagues from the Democratic side have been standing waiting ready to continue to put people over politics and do something about all of the gun violence in our country. But we have Republicans who are standing in the way.

I have a second grader, Jim, a little second grader in Atlanta public schools, and he was on lockdown all day of the shooting incident in Atlanta because the shooter was still on the run. And my Carter Cakes sat in school, and I'm sitting here watching and wondering when are my colleagues going to understand that we can protect our Second Amendment right and our second graders at the same time.

It doesn't have to be this way. These are policy choices. And so I'm calling on my colleagues to stand with us to save lives in this country.

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I mean, it's the rhetoric in this country by the extreme MAGA Republicans that we see in charge right now. They simply don't care. Words have consequences, and they are building a culture of people who don't care whose lives they take. And you look at states like Georgia and Texas. In Georgia, we have very weak Republican force gun laws, where we literally have guns everywhere.

We have some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and our governor, Brian Kemp, he made it lawful to carry a loaded concealed weapon in public without a permit or background check. We can do something about that in Congress. We need universal background checks. We need to stand up for people's lives in this country.

And Jim, I grew up in rural Alabama. I'm an expert marksman. I know how to shoot a gun. I grew up on a farm. My grandpa taught me how to shoot. But I understand that there are limitations, and we have a responsibility to save lives in this country.

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I mean, I've cosponsored everything from banning assault rifles, which they might not be on board with but will save lives to recruiting safe storage of handguns, so that people who are experiencing mental health crises or children can't get ahold of them. I have a bill right now that I'm ready and willing to pass with my Republican colleagues that would give a tax credit if you have a safe in your home to store your weapon in, so that children and people experiencing crises can't access them. So we have solutions on the board. We just need leaders in this country, the Republican Party to stand with the Democrats in Congress to do something about it, Jim.

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Thank you, Jim.

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