The Washington Post - USA (2022-04-03)

SUNDAY, APRIL 3 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

‘This is not the world I grew

up in’

But while past periods of gun

violence have generated calls for

more restrictions on firearms,

conservatives pushing for looser

gun laws now appear to have the

momentum.

Georgia lawmakers recently

passed a bill that would do away

with permit requirements for gun

owners. Residents who want to

carry concealed weapons would

still be subjected to a federal back-

ground check when they pur-

chase their weapons from a li-

censed gun dealer, but they no

longer would be required to apply

for a permit from their county

probate court office.

Kevin D. Holder, executive di-

rector of the Council of Probate

Court Judges of Georgia, said un-

der current law, between 5,

and 7,000 applicants are denied a

concealed-weapons permit each

year because they have a felony

conviction or other disqualifying

blemish on their record.

During the debate, Democratic

lawmakers warned their GOP col-

leagues that Democrats have been

making steady gains in suburban

Atlanta, and they credit residents’

uneasiness with lax gun-control

measures for some of their suc-

cess. A poll conducted in January

by the Atlanta Journal Constitu-

tion found nearly 70 percent of

Georgia voters opposed Kemp’s

proposal.

“We hold formerly Republican

districts where people with cer-

tain demographics believe they

want representatives who don’t

buy into this drift right BS,” Rep.

Josh McLaurin, a Democrat who

represents the northern suburbs

of Atlanta, said during the House

debate.

But Republican lawmakers

have been mostly united in ad-

vancing the proposal, often citing

the spike in violent crime and

‘Fear on so many levels’

When asked about the rise in

gun ownership, officials and ex-

perts point to a confluence of

events over the past three years.

There are the stresses associat-

ed with the pandemic, which in-

cluded widespread rumors across

the South about an impending

breakdown of public order. The

anxiety here only intensified

when riots erupted in Atlanta fol-

lowing the killing of Floyd in Min-

neapolis in May 2020.

Additionally, high-profile vio-

lent incidents startled Georgians.

Last March, a gunman killed eight

people, including six Asian wom-

en, at three different spas in the

Atlanta region.

A few months later, a Black

gunman allegedly used a stolen

firearm to shoot five people over

the two days in the Columbus

metropolitan region. When a sus-

pect was arrested, he told police

he had been targeting White

males, according to court records

and media reports.

More recently, a documentary

called “Raw Streets of South Geor-

gia” has been viewed more than

800,000 times on YouTube. The

documentary shows heavily

armed gang members walking the

streets of Columbus.

Reggie Lewis, a former Colum-

bus police officer who now runs a

city crime-prevention initiative,

said the nation’s divisive political

debate is also driving “fear on so

many levels,” including the trend

of more Black women arming

themselves.

“You heard the word ‘racism’ so

many times. You see pictures of

the [U.S.] Capitol storming. You

see pictures of the riots,” Lewis

said. “We are seeing so much ha-

tred and everything else, it’s a

factor in people saying, ‘I can’t

count on someone else being at

the house, or being my protec-

tor.’ ”

have a gun, someone is maybe
going to think twice before they
shoot at me, because maybe I will
shoot back.”
Richardson, who is studying
health services management at a
local college, said she purchased a
pistol about three weeks after her
son was killed. She prefers to leave
her firearm at home, but said she
believes it offers her protection if
she can’t keep her family indoors
after 8 p.m. — an informal curfew
she adopted after Cortez’s death.
“Because of what happened to
my son, and with all of this other
stuff going on, you have to prepare
yourself,” Richardson said. “I
would not say I don’t trust the
police, but you got young and
dumb teenagers out there, and
you never know because they can
just be driving and shooting in the
air.”
The surge in gun ownership in
Georgia is also leading to more
stolen weapons. Law enforce-
ment officials said those guns are
then either being used in local
crimes or sold on the black market
in Northern states, where gun
laws tend to be stricter.
Between January and October
of last year, Columbus police in-
vestigated at least 460 stolen fire-
arms, many of which appear to
have been legally obtained guns
that were taken from vehicles.
City leaders say organized gangs
have been searching vehicles in
neighborhoods and shopping
centers because they know so
many Columbus residents now
travel with firearms.
The problem is even more stark
in Atlanta, the state’s most popu-
lated city. According to Atlanta
police, 2,008 guns were stolen
from vehicles in the city last year,
while another 148 vehicles were
stolen while a weapon was inside
them.

GEORGIA FROM A

show,” said Murray, who is Black

and said he is afraid of street

crime and the dangers posed by

domestic white supremacist

groups. “Would you shoot some-

one who you thought had a gun?

“It’s sad we got to go back to the

wild, wild West days,” Murray

added. “But it seemed to work

back then. Why can’t it work

now?”

But Tucker, the city council-

woman, still holds out hope Geor-

gia Republicans will reconsider.

“This is not the world I grew up

in,” Tucker said. “It’s far more

dangerous, so why increase the

danger even more?”

Razzan Nakhlawi contributed to this

report.

Countryman said law enforce-

ment officials would be in “un-

charted waters,” making it more

difficult for them to determine

whether an armed individual is

legally carrying their weapons.

Yet some Columbus-area resi-

dents wonder whether gun vio-

lence is already past the point

where police or state legislators

can make much of a difference.

Wayne Murray, 52, said he can-

not legally own a firearm because

he received a felony conviction for

drug offenses in the early 1990s.

But, Murray said, his wife owns a

shotgun and a pistol, and she has

recently been practicing at the

gun range because she fears for

her family’s safety.

“A lot of people are getting it for

domestic unrest.

State Rep. J. Collins, a Republi-

can who chairs the House Public

Safety and Homeland Security

Committee, told the House that

for years he resisted eliminating

the permitting requirement but

changed his mind after seeing the

riots in Atlanta in 2020.

“Let’s talk about the people

who reached out to legislators and

said, ‘You know, I never had a

reason to carry a gun but now that

I want to, and my magistrate for

my probate court is shut down

[due to covid], and they are burn-

ing down these neighborhoods

around us, and we are seeing

violent crime,’ ” Collins said.

If the “constitutional carry”

legislation is signed into law,

ERIK S. LESSER/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

A gun rights advocate at a march last month n ear the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. Police say 2,008 guns

were stolen from vehicles in the city last year; another 148 vehicles were stolen with a weapon inside.

BY LINDSEY BEVER

For decades, scientists have
been studying how alcohol af-
fects our bodies. Some studies
have suggested modest amounts,
such as a glass or two of red wine
per day, are associated with de-
creased inflammation, improved
blood pressure and a lower risk
of death from coronary artery
disease.
Research has also linked it to
an increased risk of various can-
cers and reduced brain volume
over time.
So which is it — is moderate
drinking good or bad?
A team of researchers recently
analyzed the connection be-
tween genes linked to alcohol
consumption and cardiovascular
conditions and found that drink-
ing — any amount — was associ-
ated with an increased risk of
disease.
The study, which was pub-
lished last week in JAMA Net-

work Open, examined genetic

and medical data of nearly

400,000 people through the U.K.

Biobank, a large research data-

base in Britain containing genet-

ic, lifestyle and health informa-

tion available for public health

research.

The findings showed that even

low alcohol intake was associat-

ed with a small increased risk of

cardiovascular issues, such as

hypertension and coronary ar-

tery disease, but that risk

ramped up exponentially with

heavier consumption.

It also suggested that the pre-

viously held theory that modest

drinking, namely of red wine,

may help decrease the risk of

heart disease is probably not the

case. Individuals more likely to

drink low to moderate amounts

of alcohol also appeared to be

more health-minded than those

who abstained from it — for

example, smoking less, exercis-

ing more and eating healthier —

all factors that contribute to

better heart health, said Krishna

Aragam, senior author of the

study and a cardiologist at Mas-

sachusetts General Hospital.

He said these other factors,

such as diet and exercise, may be

“mediating that reduction risk”

of cardiovascular issues attribut-

ed to low amounts of alcohol

consumption. “Maybe it’s not the

alcohol itself,” he said.

Even red wine, which has been

touted at times as being heart-

healthy, does not seem to have

substantial benefits.

Some research has suggested

resveratrol, a compound found

in grape skins, particularly those

of red grapes, may act like anti-

oxidants and contribute to heart

health, but most likely not

enough to have a meaningful

impact. Another study found

that a person would have to

drink at least 500 liters of red

wine per day to get enough

resveratrol to benefit from it.

Given the recent findings on

alcohol consumption and cardio-

vascular disease risks, Stanley

Hazen, a cardiologist at Cleve-

land Clinic who was not involved

in the recent study, said he will

be amending his recommenda-

tions to patients.

Hazen said when his patients

have asked him about drinking

in the past, he has told them it is

fine in moderation and may even

provide an advantage. “But now I

think that was wrong,” he said,

pointing to emerging research.

“So for people who are at high

risk of cardiovascular disease,

which is over half the people who

I see on a daily basis in my clinic,

I am going to be recommending

cutting back on alcohol.”

But cardiovascular health is

not the only concern. Studies

have linked moderate alcohol

consumption to numerous types

of cancers involving the mouth

and throat, voice box (or larynx),

esophagus, colon and rectum.

For women, light to moderate

drinking has been associated

with a significant increased risk

of breast cancer.

Ernest Hawk, division head

for cancer prevention and popu-

lation sciences at the University

of Texas MD Anderson Cancer

Center, said there is not one

particular way in which alcohol

leads to cancer. “There are many

different ways alcohol causes

toxicity to cells that are believed

to result in cancer development

over time,” he said.

However, as with other health

issues, alcohol’s role in cancer

can be hard to assess because

other factors, such as diet and

exercise — or lack thereof — can

influence cancer risk, too. Hawk

said people who are heavier

drinkers are also less likely to

practice healthy lifestyles, so “it

becomes difficult to dissect out

alcohol’s contribution.”

Of course, it is less surprising

that excessive or long-term alco-

hol consumption can cause prob-

lems.

For instance, such drinking

can lead to significant damage to

the liver. Initially, it can cause

inflammation of the liver known

as acute alcoholic hepatitis. But

over time, it can lead to cirrhosis,

which can cause liver cancer,

liver failure and death, said Ja-

mile’ Wakim-Fleming, director of

the Fatty Liver Disease Program

at Cleveland Clinic.

That’s why, health experts say,

it is important for people to

consider their health and per-

sonal history — genetics, age, sex

— when deciding whether and

how much to drink, as alcohol

does not affect everyone the

same way.

Young people’s brains contin-

ue developing until their mid-

20s. Older people often have

underlying conditions and take

medications. And women do not

produce as much of an alcohol-

metabolizing enzyme called alco-

hol dehydrogenase, meaning al-

cohol is more toxic for them,

Wakim-Fleming said.

Some doctors encourage peo-

ple to limit their drinking, while

others discourage it altogether.

But for those 21 and older who do

decide to drink, health experts

say to pay close attention to the

amount and concentration. For

instance, one alcoholic drink is

equal to a 12-ounce bottle of beer,

a 5-ounce glass of wine or a shot

— 1.5 ounces — of 80-proof

liquor, according to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s

most recent Dietary Guidelines

for Americans. Federal health

authorities recommend that men

limit their consumption to two

drinks per day and women to one

drink per day — any more than

that is considered excessive

drinking.

“Know your body,” Wakim-

Fleming said. “Decide for your-

self what’s good for you and

discuss it with your doctor.”

Given the research, Aragam,

senior author of the recent study,

said medical professionals

should probably not be recom-

mending that people drink to

improve heart health but said

that does not mean everyone

needs to avoid it entirely.

“It’s really just about being

informed — knowing that the

amount of the dose really mat-

ters,” he said.

Sorry, wine lovers. No amount of alcohol is good for you, study says.

Researchers rebut theory

that moderate intake can

be healthy for your heart

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