In light of my previous posts :
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Monday following an uptick in shootings over the July Fourth weekend that injured 31 people and killed five after weeks of violent crime and property destruction in Atlanta.
“Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead," Kemp, a Republican, said in a statement. "This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city. I have declared a State of Emergency and called up the Georgia Guard because the safety of our citizens comes first.
Hours earlier the mayor of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued a full-throated call for citizens to stop ”shooting each other up on our streets," after an 8-year-old girl was shot and killed on the Fourth of July near a Wendy's that has become a flashpoint of anti-police Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in the city.
Bottoms, a Democrat who is considered a potential running mate for Joe Biden, made the remarks as she fought through tears -- and the nation endured a new bout of urban carnage. Sixty-three people were injured and 17 killed in Chicago, including two children, over the weekend; and in New York City, 44 were hurt and at least six killed.
“Enough is enough," Bottoms said. "Enough is enough. We have talked about this movement that's happening across America and this moment in time when we have the ears and the interests of people across this country and across this globe who are saying they want to see change. But the difference in this moment in time with the civil rights movement -- in the civil rights movement, there was a defined, common enemy. We're fighting the enemy within when we are shooting each other up on our streets."
She continued: "
”You shot and killed a baby. And there wasn’t just one shooter; there were at least two shooters. An 8-year-old baby. If you want people to take us seriously, and you don't want us to lose this movement, then we can't lose each other."